Former Bank Manager Arrested For Loan Fraud In Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a former bank manager, Sarojkant Mahapatra, and a woman named Angel Mishra, on charges of committing a loan fraud worth around Rs 3.7 crore.

This arrest follows the recent apprehension of Mahapatra’s associate, Tanmay Kumar Maharana, linked to the same fraud last week.

According to EOW IGP J N Pankaj, Mahapatra and Maharana are accused of misappropriating Rs 3.7 crore from a private bank's branch in Dandamakundapur, Pipili, in 2018, during their respective roles as branch manager and asset officer.

Pankaj detailed that the duo colluded to approve 35 fake MUDRA loans, each valued at Rs 10 lakh, in the names of their relatives. Subsequently, they allegedly embezzled Rs 3.5 crore, with the relatives unaware of the loans sanctioned in their names.

Angel, identified as Mahapatra’s classmate and close friend, is alleged to have been part of the conspiracy. To evade detection during a bank audit, the accused closed the MUDRA loans by depositing Rs 3.7 crore, fraudulently transferred from a government deposit.

Pankaj revealed that Mahapatra had been implicated in a bank fraud of Rs 18 crore in Bhopal in 2020, accused of embezzling funds using cloned cheques. Additionally, Angel faced charges of cheating in a separate case where she promised to install mobile towers on a man's properties, leading to her booking by Khandagiri police in September 2022.