Former manager of private bank held for fraudulent transactions

A former bank manager has been arrested by Saidapet Police in Hyderabad, and 162 sovereigns of gold jewellery were recovered from him in connection with a ₹90-lakh fraud case involving the pledging of gold jewels in another person’s name at a bank in Saidapet.

According to police, Sulaiman, 32, residing on VGP Road, Saidapet, has been maintaining a savings account at the Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) located on Lawyer Jaganathan Street, Guindy. As he regularly visited the bank for deposits and withdrawals, the branch manager, Saminathan, became acquainted with him. The manager told Sulaiman that whenever he needed to withdraw money, he need not come to the bank in person, and that he would send an employee to his house. From then on, whenever Sulaiman needed cash, he would contact manager Saminathan, who would send an employee to Sulaiman’s residence with the necessary forms, collect the signatures, and hand over the money.

Similarly, on July 2, Sulaiman contacted manager Saminathan, saying that he urgently needed to pledge his gold ornaments. Following this, Saminathan sent the bank cashier, Prasad, to Sulaiman’s house. Sulaiman then handed over 162 sovereigns of gold ornaments and signed the pledge forms. Later, when Sulaiman called the manager over the phone to ask for money, Saminathan kept delaying, citing reasons such as “server not working” or “auditing was in progress.” Finally, on July 15, when Sulaiman personally went to the bank to inquire, he came to know that the branch manager, Saminathan, had been suspended for defrauding several people.

Realising that he had been cheated of 162 sovereigns of gold ornaments, Sulaiman lodged a complaint at Saidapet Police Station seeking to take action against manager Saminathan and the bank employees, and to recover his jewels.

The investigation revealed that Saminathan, along with cashier Prasad and other employees, had pledged gold ornaments in the names of inactive account holders by forging their signatures and fraudulently obtained loans. Specifically, the 162 sovereigns of gold taken from complainant Sulaiman were pledged in another person’s name at the same bank, against which manager Saminathan had fraudulently availed a loan of ₹90 lakhs before absconding.

Following the investigation, last September, the police arrested two accused- Prasad, 25, who was a cashier and Divakar, 32, another bank staff. Police teams were actively searching for the main absconding accused, manager Saminathan.

Now, the police have arrested Saminathan and remanded him to judicial custody after the recovery of jewellery.