Navi Mumbai police probe a massive loan fraud at SBI’s CBD Belapur branch involving forged government company records and dozens of fake borrowers | Representational Image
Navi Mumbai, Feb 24: The CBD Belapur branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) has allegedly been duped of Rs 6.90 crore after 51 fake personal loan accounts were created using forged identity cards and salary certificates of reputed public sector undertakings, police said.
The CBD Belapur Police Station has registered a case against three alleged masterminds — Yamnath Naik Rathod, Saddam Ali Shaikh and Raju Nayake Jatothu — along with 51 bogus loan beneficiaries for cheating and forgery, and has initiated a detailed investigation.
Forged loan files submitted between October 2023 and January 2024
According to police, Rathod, who is employed with the Central Reserve Police Force, used to submit personal loan files of CRPF personnel to SBI for approval and had developed familiarity with bank officials.
Taking advantage of this access, he allegedly prepared forged loan files in the names of 51 individuals between October 2023 and January 2024 and secured loan approvals totalling Rs 6.90 crore.
Investigations revealed that the accused submitted fabricated employment documents of leading government companies, including Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Gas Authority of India Limited, Steel Authority of India Limited, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and National Highways Authority of India. Fake identity cards and salary certificates of these companies were allegedly used to obtain the loans.
Fraud exposed after loans turned NPAs
According to the FIR lodged, after the loans were sanctioned, the accused initially paid instalments for a few months to gain the bank’s confidence. However, salary credits into the accounts later stopped and the loan accounts began turning non-performing assets (NPAs), prompting suspicion. When bank officials visited the addresses provided in the loan documents, they found that none of the 51 borrowers resided there.
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Verification with the Mumbai and Hyderabad offices of the concerned companies confirmed that none of the alleged borrowers were employed with them. Police said that when irregularities began surfacing and the bank stopped accepting new loan files, Rathod allegedly deposited minimum amounts in some accounts to mislead officials, but the growing number of defaulting accounts ultimately exposed the fraud.
The complaint was lodged on February 18 by a bank officer, following which an FIR was registered. Further investigation in the case is being conducted by the Crime Branch.
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