CHENNAI: A former manager of Catholic Syrian Bank’s Guindy branch, wanted in a Rs 90 lakh gold loan fraud, was arrested in Hyderabad on November 2, leading to the recovery of 162 sovereigns of gold jewellery pledged using forged documents.
According to the police, the accused was identified as Swaminathan (45), a native of Papanasam in Thanjavur district. A special team from the Saidapet Crime Branch tracked him down after he allegedly kept shifting locations and mobile numbers to evade arrest. Six mobile phones were also seized.
The case began after Sulaiman (32), a resident of Saidapet, complained that the manager had taken 162 sovereigns of his gold jewellery on July 2, promising to arrange a gold loan but did not hand over the amount. When Sulaiman visited the branch on July 15, he learnt that Swaminathan had been suspended following similar complaints.
A probe by the Saidapet Crime Branch later found that the manager, in collusion with cashier Prasad and operations manager Divakar, had pledged jewellery received from customers in the names of inactive account holders, forged signatures, and diverted the funds.
Prasad (25) of Puruthivakkam and Divakar (32) of KK Nagar were arrested on September 23 and remanded.
Following his arrest in Hyderabad, Swaminathan was produced before a local court in Rangareddy district in Telangana. He was later brought to Chennai on a transit warrant and remanded by the Saidapet court on Monday.