Fraudsters Siphon Off Rs 2,417 Crore From PSU Banks In The First Quarter

A list compiled by the Finance Ministry has revealed that public sector banks lost Rs 2,417 crore due to various incidents of frauds in the first quarter of FY2014-15. For instance, there were 59 cases of fraud in Central Bank of India alone, which led to a loss of Rs 1,047 crore.

Central Bank of India had topped the list even in FY2013-14, reporting 117 cases of fraud involving Rs 818 crore. State Bank of India is second on the list, losing Rs 437 crore in 61 such cases in the April-June quarter.

"Our loan sanctioning process is stringent. There may be some legacy cases but this fiscal no employee of SBI has been involved in any embezzlement of funds," said a senior SBI official on the condition of anonymity. As far as Central Bank of India is concerned, it has suspended or dismissed 102 officials in fraud cases.

It is pertinent to mention here that Syndicate Bank's Chairman and Managing Director SK Jain was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 50 lakh earlier a few months ago.

As per the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India, “all advances related to fraud cases of Rs 1 lakh and above are maintained under 'cheating and forgery' category.”

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