‘Crores illegally lent out by bank official’

18 September 2012

The loans are big enough to destabilise the financial health of Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank
biswabrata goswami
HALDIA, 18 SEPT: A bank chairman has been accused of illegally sanctioning crores of loans to a businessman close to rival leaders Mr Lakshman Seth and Mr Subhendu Adhikary.
The loans are big enough to destabilise the financial health Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank, a regional rural bank sponsored by United Bank of India.
A complaint has been made to the Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against top executives including Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank Chairman Rana Majumder.
Mr Majumder brushed aside the allegations. “The entrepreneur is a very good customer of the bank and he has deposited enough collateral security to the bank,” he said.  
The loans were provided to fish trader Siraj Khan and his associates, allegedly ignoring bank norms and bypassing rules and principles of lending stipulated by the RBI, Nabard, and the bank's board of directors. Some top officials were allegedly bribed to push through the loans, according to the complaint. 
A bank employee said: “Some of the officials of the concerned department who are instrumental to these unholy affairs are being retained at the same assignment even after their promotion to a higher grade, which is completely unbecoming in light of the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission."
The Katiabazar branch between June 2010 and March 2011 sanctioned a Rs 21.92 crore loan for Mr Khan and his family members by ignoring the bank's norms, according to the complaint. 
"The security norms have been intentionally relaxed for the benefit of the borrowers," it said. "A huge loan has been provided practically without any collateral security and only against personal cross-guarantees amongst the borrowers. Even no primary security is created or charged out of the loan proceeds."
In addition, the same branch disbursed a cash credit limit of Rs 9.9 lakh to Mr Khan on 28 July 2011, before it was sanctioned by the competent authority on 23 August 2011.
Furthermore, the Tamluk branch on 3 February 2012 provided Rs 36 crore to Sheikh Arshed and Firoja Begam, relatives of Mr Khan, to purchase 36 second-hand 12-wheeled Ashok Leyland vehicles from Mr Khan and two of his close associates.
The loans were provided without any collateral security, according to the complaint. The vehicles are registered in the names of Siraj Khan, Harul Khan and Mridul Khan with the RTA West Godavari-Eluru, Andhra Pradesh.
In other words, the vehicles have not been transferred into the names of the borrowers. Primary security was not created out of the loan proceeds, and the vehicles were not hypothecated in the name of the bank.
Mr Sagar Sen, Secretary of the Bagiya Gramin Bikash Bank Employees' Association, said: "We are very much concerned about the scam where the chairman of the bank is directly involved with it. We have already lodged a complaint with the economic wing of the CBI."