PNB Officials Face Charges in 15-Year-Old Rs 5 Crore Loan Fraud Case
In a significant development, a special court in Ghaziabad has framed charges against three officials from Punjab National Bank (PNB) after a delay of fifteen years. The case revolves around loans totaling over Rs 5 crore that were sanctioned in 2011, with allegations of cheating, fraud, and criminal conspiracy.
Details of the Loan Fraud and Court Proceedings
The matter, initially registered with the CBI ACB police station in 2011, involves loans granted to a couple, Sanjeev Dixit and Sheetal Sharma. On Tuesday, Special CBI Court Judge Anand Prakash Singh charged the three officials from PNB's Nehru Nagar branch in Ghaziabad: Rajendra Singh Chauhan, Raghavendra Swaroop Bhatnagar, and Manoj Kumar.
These individuals have been implicated under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act for sanctioning loans without adhering to proper norms, thereby causing wrongful gain to themselves and significant loss to the public bank and government.
Specific Charges and Legal Framework
The charges include Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable securities), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (fraudulent use of forged documents) of the IPC. Additionally, they face charges under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the complaint, Sanjeev Dixit applied for a cash credit limit of Rs 3.5 crore on May 9, 2011, at the PNB Nehru Nagar branch. The loan was processed by the accused officials, who mortgaged a property in New Delhi's Vivek Vihar area. However, it was later discovered that Dixit submitted forged sale deeds for this property.
Further Instances of Fraud and Misconduct
The investigation revealed that Rs 1,97,48,800 from the cash credit account was transferred to M/s Jagdamba Crane Services, owned by Radheshyam Sharma, the uncle of Sheetal Sharma. This amount was used to purchase a property in Sector 5, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad.
In a separate incident, Sheetal Sharma applied for a Rs 2 crore credit limit on June 19, 2011, which was also processed by the same bank officials. She mortgaged a house in Vasundhara, but the sale deed was found to be forged, and the property was not in Sanjeev's name. The court noted that the officials failed to conduct proper verification and due diligence, engaging in a criminal conspiracy with private individuals.
Court's Observations and Ruling
After reviewing the investigation details, the court stated that Chauhan, as a public servant, along with Bhatnagar and Kumar, abused their official positions. They sanctioned loans of Rs 3.50 crore to Sanjeev and Rs 2 crore to Sheetal without following established norms, resulting in wrongful loss to the bank and wrongful gain to the accused.
The court ruled, "You have thus committed an offence punishable under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. You are hereby ordered to be tried by this court on the aforesaid charges." This case underscores critical lapses in banking protocols and highlights the ongoing efforts to address financial crimes in India.
