Bank manger arrested in Rs 120 crore fraud

A branch manger of a PSU bank was arrested today in connection with the alleged Rs 120 crore fraud against state-owned West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd (WBIDFC).
"After initial interrogation we have arrested the bank branch manger Altois Lakra. We are investigating the case," said Pallab Kanti Ghosh, joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).
The fraud came to light yesterday when WBIDFC chairman Avirup Sarkar lodged a complaint against the accused bank manger after a large amount of money of fixed deposits worth Rs 120 crore went missing from its account.
According to WBIDFC sources, the corporation had transferred Rs 59 crore to the Circus Avenue branch of UCO Bank on August 30 last year and Rs 61 crore on January 10 this year. Against these two deposits the corporation obtained two separate fixed deposit certificates from the bank signed by the branch manager.

It was during reconciliation of its accounts with the bank earlier this week that it was noted that the money was missing.
WBDIFC found that in the bank's records the beneficiary of those fixed deposit accounts was not WBDIFC but a different company, the sources said.
Yesterday, Lakra had claimed that around Rs 83 crore was missing from the account and signatures on the fixed deposit certificates were not genuine.