IDBI GM, 30 others booked by CBI for cheating the bank of Rs 445.32 cr

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against 31 persons, including IDBI's   General Manager Battu Rama Rao, 21 aggregator groups and empanelled valuers, for cheating the bank of Rs 445.32 crore.

Rama Rao has been dismissed from service.

The CBI booked them under suspicion of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, criminal misconduct and misappropriation during the period 2009-14. It is alleged that about 220 borrowers consisting of 22 aggregators (from 21 aggregator groups) conspired with IDBI bank officials at its Basheerbagh (Hyderabad) and Siripuram (Visakhapatnam) branches along with bank panel valuers and availed Kisan Credit Card and pisciculture loans from different branches of the bank aggregating Rs 198.28 cr.

Loans turn NPA

The loans availed on the basis of fake documents and overvalued collateral property, subsequently became Non-Performing Assets (NPA). The outstanding amount as on September 2017 stood at Rs 445.32 crore. As the said lands in East and West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh and Adilabad district in Telangana do not have fish cultivation, it was confirmed that the loan amounts were transferred to personal savings accounts, which were later withdrawn.

As per the First Information Report, the persons involved   with the bank and booked by the central investigating agency included retired Chief General Manager R Damodaran, panel Valuers Lt Col B K Sahoo, Aakar Consulting Engineers, R A Sharma, M V Srinivasulu, Subha Syndicate, Srinivasa Rau and Somasekhara Rao.