INDIA BUSINESS WORLD OCTOBER (1^st - 20^th) 2007
The Month that was ...

CBI FILES CHARGESHEET AGAINST EX-SBI OFFICIAL FOR FRAUD

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against a former MD of the State Bank of India (SBI) for siphoning off funds to the tune of Rs 5 crore.

The CBI's Bank Securities and Frauds Cell in Bangalore, sources said, filed a charge sheet on September 27 against Y Radhakrishanan, former MD of SBI, and former president of the Indian Institute of Bankers, and three others, including two SBI officials, for a string of offences. Their offences include criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts. Radhakrishan allegedly took away the money in 2005 to acquire Indira Gandhi College for Women in Hyderabad and some other immovable properties. He also allegedly gave loans to other agencies also.

According to the charge sheet, Radhakrishan, who retired as MD in 2002, along with Norman Isaac, manager of SBI's St Johns Road branch in Secundarabad and V V V R Reddy, another officer of the same branch, cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 5 crore by fraudulently withdrawing money from an overdraft facility without getting any sanction.

They forged letters, including one from the AP State Irrigation Development Corporation, for covering the overdraft. Radhakrishnan had an overdraft account with a limit of Rs 20 lakh, which was later raised to Rs 40 lakh. He was ultimately overdrawn by around Rs 5 crore without any security, the CBI alleged. The accused also gave an account in California with $ 75,000 as collateral security for the overdraft, but the account was closed and the bank was unable to retrieve any money, the charge sheet said.