CHANDIGARH, May 26:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case of fraud against a senior manager of the United Commercial and Overseas (UCO) Bank for embezzelling a sum of Rs 36 lakh from its Rohtak branch.The bank has placed under suspension Senior Manager S.D.Sharma after completion of an inquiry conducted by internal vigilance wing. While the chargesheet was prepared by the bank, the CBI launched its independent investigations into the matter.R.K. Somaiya, Zonal manager based in Chandigarh, had, in a letter to the CBI, stated that Sharma had defrauded the bank by forging signatures of clients to get loans sanctioned against their fixed deposit receipts. In many cases, vouchers, got signed from customers on one pretext or the other, were used.In a number of cases it was found that money collected from those wanting to open accounts were not deposited with the bank. Sharma allegedly issued fake pass-books with fictitious entries. He had been committing the fraud since 1991. Somaiya admitted that fraud to the tune of Rs 36 lakh had been committed and cited various documents and records in proof. In 39 cases, Sharma fudged the records or twisted the rules to put the bank to a great loss, it is learnt.When contacted, Somaiya refused to comment on the issue. He, however, denied that the manager of the Rohtak branch was being helped by officers posted in the head office. Initially, the bank had made an incomplete reference to the CBI alleging that the bank had incurred a loss of Rs 10 lakh only due to the fraud.
