Massive scam unveiled: Over Rs 31 crore siphoned from RLDA investments, 5 apprehended

NEW DELHI | Updated: 10 October, 2023 5:20 pm IST
The Bank of Baroda employees, working alongside private individuals, perpetrated fraud against RLDA, amounting to Rs 31.50 crore

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained five individuals, including two former officials—one from the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and another from the Bank of Baroda, for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of Rs 31.50 crore entrusted to the RLDA.

 

Initially, a total of Rs 35 crore was placed in a fixed deposit, with the intention of reinvesting it for a three-month period upon maturity. However, the culprits redirected a significant portion of these funds to fictitious companies in Mumbai, causing considerable financial harm to the RLDA.

 

The Bank of Baroda employees, working alongside private individuals, perpetrated fraud against RLDA, amounting to Rs 31.50 crore. This sum had been entrusted to the bank for investment but was misappropriated through the use of forged letters and advisories, falsely attributed to RLDA officials.

 

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A case was registered based on a complaint filed by RLDA and the accused persons, former RLDA Manager Vivek Kumar, former Bank of Baroda Branch Head Jaswant Rai, Gopal Thakur, Hitesh Karelia, and Nilesh Bhatt, were presented before the court and remanded to Judicial Custody on Saturday.

 

According to a source who spoke to The New Indian, there were allegations that the RLDA’s Rs 35 crore fixed deposit (FD) at the Bank of Baroda’s Vishwas Nagar Branch in Shahdra, Delhi, was not reinvested as originally planned. Instead, only Rs 3.5 crore was actually invested in the FD, while the remaining Rs 31.50 crore was illicitly channeled into multiple shell companies, with the involvement of bank officials, RLDA officials, and private individuals. This diversion ultimately led to substantial financial losses for the RLDA.

 

The CBI carried out searches at 12 locations, spanning Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, and Himachal Pradesh, as part of their investigation. The inquiry into the case is still ongoing.

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