UP bank manager arrested for Rs 45 crore fraud

A bank manager, who had been absconding for two years in a case of embezzlement of Rs 45 crore, has been arrested by the Lucknow police.

The accused, Akhilesh Kumar (42), had a case lodged against him at Krishna Nagar police station by, Manoj Kumar Meena, the regional office head of Canara Bank (Vipin Khand).

The accused was holding the post of bank manager at Alambagh branch office when he committed the fraud. Akhilesh Kumar had gone into hiding after his name surfaced in the crime and has been untraceable since then.

Deputy Commissioner of police (DCP), central zone, Aparna Kaushik, had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on his arrest but his whereabouts could not be ascertained.

"We had declared him an absconder after an FIR was lodged against him," said ACP, Krishna Nagar, Pankaj Srivastava.

However, a police team was tipped off on Monday about Akhilesh Kumar's presence in Krishna Nagar area after which the officials swooped down and nabbed him.

He owned up his crime and disclosed that he has used the money in purchasing lands, goods and other items.

A senior police officer revealed that when Akhilesh Kumar was the branch manager, some persons, identified as Manoj Kumar, Raj Duggal, Amit Dubey, and Sanjay Agarwal, had opened accounts in his branch in 2019.

They later told Akhilesh Kumar that they wanted to get a fixed deposit (FD) of Rs 41 crore done in the name of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Later, four persons - Satish Tripathi, Amit Tiwari, Om Prakash aka Manager, and Prabhat Srivastava - met Akhilesh Kumar and offered him Rs 1.25 crore bribe for transferring the FD amount to their account.

"The accused was assured that before the FD matured, they would return the money," a police officer said.

However, when the original depositors, who had got the FD done, demanded their money on maturity, Akhilesh Kumar reached out to Tripathi and Tiwari.

"The manager got Rs 25 crore from them but the original depositors sensed foul play and informed the higher authorities," the officer added.

A probe was conducted and Akhilesh Kumar was transferred from that branch after inquiry. Later, when he was found guilty, he escaped.