MAPUSA
In a major fraud detected at the Bank of Baroda in Anjuna, more than Rs 2 crore is reported to have been embezzled from individual account holders in the bank.
Sources said that a former bank manager and a female colleague have been involved in the fraud, where large amounts of funds from individual account holders have been illegally transferred to private accounts.
Both the former manager and the lady clerk have been suspended by the bank.
Till now, the bank has refrained from filing a formal police complaint as part of strategy, but has informed the Anjuna PI about the fraud in the bank.
“It appears misappropriation and criminal breach of trust has taken place in the bank, but no formal complaint has been lodged with us yet,” said Anjuna PI Paresh Naik.
The fraud was detected in February after the Anjuna Comunidade wrote to the bank that an amount of Rs 23 lakh was illegally transferred in three installments from its account in December last year.
“An amount of Rs 9.50 lakh was transferred without authorization on December 11 and Rs 7 lakh and Rs 6.50 lakh on December 15 last year to another account,” said Edward Nunes, in a letter to the bank.
A highest amount of Rs 73 lakh was transferred from a single account, a source disclosed.
Sources further disclosed that besides the former bank manager and the clerk, some account holders may also be involved in the fraud.
The act of misappropriating funds may have started at least three months back, sources said.
Soon after learning of the crime, as a first step the bank transferred all the staff from the branch and launched an internal probe.
The new manager of Bank of Baroda, Mahableshwar Vadkar, on Friday hesitantly admitted to “some problem” in the bank and added that the bank was yet to ascertain the amount involved in the fraud.
Sources, however, said more than Rs 2 crore has been misappropriated from various clients having accounts in the bank.
“We are verifying all the accounts and senior regional officials are involved in the investigation,” Vadkar told The Goan.
“In no circumstance our clients/account holders will suffer. We will pay each and every penny of our patrons who have been defrauded,” the manager assured.
