EOW-ACB remands key accused in ₹5.04-crore Bank of Baroda fraud to judicial custody
Raipur: The Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW-ACB) on Thursday sent the main accused in the alleged ₹5.04-crore Bank of Baroda loan fraud case to judicial custody after the completion of his 14-day police remand.
Biswajit Bhowmik (56) was produced before the Special Court under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Bilaspur on July 2, following which he was lodged in jail. A resident of Vinoba Nagar, Bilaspur, Bhowmik was arrested by the EOW-ACB on June 18.
The agency has booked him under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides Sections 12 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The case stems from allegations of large-scale financial irregularities in the sanctioning of overdraft facilities, term loans, bank guarantees and cash credit limits at the Bank of Baroda’s Rajkishore Nagar branch, Bilaspur, between March 20, 2018, and May 31, 2019.
According to investigators, Bhowmik, in connivance with certain bank officials, floated several shell companies in his and his wife’s names and allegedly used forged documents to obtain loans amounting to nearly ₹5.04 crore. The probe found that he projected himself as a financial consultant and loan facilitator while orchestrating the fraud.
During the investigation, the agency found that Bhowmik persuaded individuals seeking loans to hand over documents such as PAN cards, GST records and original property papers. These documents were allegedly misused, without the owners’ consent, to show them as guarantors or mortgagors for loans sanctioned to other shell entities with the help of bank officials.
Investigators further alleged that he mortgaged the property of one customer to raise loans for another company before diverting the sanctioned funds into accounts controlled by his own firms. As a result, the owners of the pledged properties received no benefit from the loans obtained in their names.
The probe also revealed that Bhowmik allegedly collected pre-signed blank cheque books from clients and controlled all banking transactions without the knowledge of the account holders or guarantors. By maintaining only small balances to ensure timely payment of interest and loan instalments, he allegedly kept the accounts from attracting the bank’s suspicion.
Physical verification carried out by the EOW-ACB found that the firms created as part of the alleged conspiracy had no genuine business operations. Investigators also claimed to have gathered evidence indicating that illegal gratification was paid to bank officials for facilitating approval of the loans.
The agency said the conspiracy caused substantial financial losses to the bank. Further investigation is in progress.
