Crores of AIDC money siphoned off; Chief Finance Controller arrested

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Crime Branch of Guwahati Police arrested AIDC's (Assam Industrial Development Corporation) Chief Finance Controller Om PrakashAgarwal (CA) in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of crores of rupees of the Corporation from the Central Bank of India, Bhangagarh branch, Guwahati.

The arrest was made on Wednesday on the trail of two cases – one (298/2020 u/s 203/406/420/463/468 IPC) filed by the Chief Manager of the Central Bank of India branch at Bhangagarh and the other (301/2020 u/s 203/406/420/468/471 IPC) filed by AIDC GM – both in Bhangagarh police station. The investigation was handed over to the Crime Branch of the police after amalgamating the two cases. The Court sent Agarwala to three-day custody of the Crime Branch.

According to sources, the AIDC had a fixed deposit of around Rs 14 crore in the Kahilipara branch of Canara Bank. When the amount matured, an individual identifying himself as the manager of Central Bank of India met senior officials of the AIDC at its Ambikagiri Nagar-based office in Guwahati. The self-styled bank manager convinced the AIDC officials that the fixed deposit amount in Canara Bank could be transferred to the Central Bank of India to fetch high interest rates. The AIDC officials gave their nod to the 'bank manager' to transfer the fixed deposit amount from Canara Bank to the Bhangagarh branch of Central Bank of India. Strangely enough, the AIDC officials neither bothered to verify the credentials of the so-called bank manager nor did they intimate the matter to the authorities at the Central Bank of India, sources said. After getting AIDC's nod, the matured fixed deposit amount was transferred to the Bhangagarh branch of Central Bank of India. Subsequently, an amount of more than Rs 2 crore was later transferred to a bank based in Kolkata from the Bhangagarh branch of Central Bank of India. Reportedly, the fraud bank manager later withdrew the amount from the bank, in Kolkata.

The fraud came to the light only when the Central Bank of India detected some suspicious transactions; and filed the case at the Bhangagarh Police Station. Interestingly enough, the AIDC came to know of the fraud only after the Bhangagarh branch of Central Bank of India informed it of the suspicious transaction. Later, the AIDC also filed an FIR at Geetanagar Police Station on August 7. However, the case was transferred to Bhangagarh Police Station since the Bhangagarh branch of Central Bank of India does not fall under the jurisdiction of Geetanagar Police Station.

In the meantime, the AIDC ordered an internal inquiry and suspended Chief Finance Controller Om PrakashAgarwal and Additional Finance Controller RajibMedhi.

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