Bank manager accuses predecessor of fraud worth crores

The branch manager of a private bank has accused his predecessor of misappropriating crores of rupees belonging to the bank’s customers without their knowledge by misusing his official position and to monetarily help a hotelier.

Praveen Kulkarni (37) is the present branch manager of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court Complex Branch of The Karnataka Bank Ltd on Nrupathunga Road. The misappropriation came to light when Kulkarni took over and went through the old records.

In his complaint to the Halasuru Gate police on June 23, he accused his predecessor Doreswamy M who, between April 2015 to December 2017, transferred cash from numerous customers’ bank accounts to his beneficiaries’ accounts within the same bank without the customers’ knowledge.

Kulkarni also alleged in his complaint that when a few customers turned up with queries, they were issued fixed deposit receipts while they were actually operating Over Draft Against Deposit bank accounts, his complaint stated.

Using this modus operandi, Doreswamy transferred several crores of rupees to his beneficiaries’ accounts including a bank account of his hotelier friend identified as Raju Thomas’s bank account who withdrew nearly Rs 2.5 crore by a demand draft, the complaint stated. Thomas has been made the second accused in the case.

Doreswamy further had manipulated documents and forged signatures of account holders to cover up his illegal transactions within the bank, thereby causing a huge loss to the bank, the complaint alleged.

Based on the complaint, the Halasuru Gate police have taken up a case of cheating, criminal conspiracy, fraud, wrongful loss, and criminal breach of trust.