Bizman accuses bank manager of diverting loan money

A businessman has accused the manager of a bank — where he obtained a loan for his company — of cheating him and illegally transferring Rs 1.06 crore of the loan amount to different accounts.

The manager of Axis Bank, MG Road branch, misled Mohammed Arshad V M (50) into believing that the transfers happened due to a technical glitch and the bank had waived the Rs 2 crore he had borrowed.

But when he received a notice from the bank to auction the property he had given as collateral for the loan, he learnt that he had become a defaulter.

Arshad, proprietor of National Trading Corporation in OMBR Layout in Banaswadi, then filed a complaint with the Cubbon Park police.

A steel trader, Arshad applied for a Rs 2-crore loan on June 30, 2010, at the Axis Bank under the Power Trade Scheme. His loan was approved and the amount was credited to his Axis Bank account in one transaction since it was under the said scheme. He had pledged a residential property in Bengaluru as collateral.

Arshad said in his complaint that the bank transferred Rs 1.06 crore of the loan amount to three different bank accounts without his permission. On July 29, 2010, the bank diverted Rs 71 lakh; Rs 20 lakh on July 30; and Rs 15.02 lakh on July 05, 2011.

When he notified the bank staff, they told him it was a technical glitch and the money diverted would be returned to his account. "But when that didn't happen, Arshad again approached the bank and was told that the loan would be waived due to the technical glitch, which was the bank's fault. Arshad was relieved that he could keep nearly Rs 1 crore with him," his advocate said.

But on April 21, 2018, Arshad was shocked to receive an auction notice on the property he had pledged for the loan. The notice informed him that the property would be auctioned on May 25. He then approached the Cubbon Park police on May 21 and lodged a cheating complaint against the manager of the bank.

An Axis Bank spokesperson said: "This relates to the recovery proceedings the bank has currently undertaken and is under sub-judice."