EOW arrests 3 bank staffers for role in Rs 6.8 cr loan fraud

Bhubaneswar: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Tuesday arrested three women employees of a public sector bank in Bhubaneswar for their alleged involvement in a loan fraud amounting to nearly Rs 6.88 crore. The accused have been identified as Baishakhi Saha (32), Charubala Dandasena (31) and Sarita Paikaray (32).According to investigators, the trio, in collusion with several bank personnel in multiple branches as well as middlemen, sanctioned personal loans to 282 people using forged documents. Once the loans were disbursed, the funds were diverted to multiple accounts. As EMIs remained unpaid, the bank suffered heavy losses."The fraud reportedly occurred between May 2022 and Nov 2023. The bank lodged a formal complaint with us on May 5, 2024, citing delays due to cumbersome internal inquiries and audits," an EOW official said.According to EOW authorities, the borrowers submitted fake employment records, salary slips and bank statements, posing as employees of reputed private companies.Loans were sanctioned at four branches — Rail Vihar (150 loans), Fortune Tower (115), Patia (8) and Damana (9). Verification later confirmed that none of the borrowers were genuine employees and the salary slips were fabricated."Credits in borrowers' accounts came from unrelated third-party entities to mimic regular salaries. After disbursement, funds were diverted through multiple transactions to middlemen, creating non-performing assets (NPAs)," the EOW official said.The bank's internal probe revealed serious lapses and gross violations of rules by the three staffers, who allegedly connived with borrowers and middlemen. All three were suspended before their arrest.The EOW has seized incriminating documents, including forged salary certificates, employment details, bank statements and KYC papers. "We are looking for other accused persons, including some bank officials, middlemen and borrowers," the EOW official said. Earlier, on May 20, the agency had arrested Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, a middleman accused of arranging fake loan applicants.