Chairman and Managing Director of A.P. Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society Ltd., (APMCCS) Vijayawada, and his two senior employees were arrested by the Hyderabad Central Crime Station police on Friday in connection with the alleged financial fraud in the Telugu Akademi fixed deposits accounts.
The accused and society C&MD B.V.V.N. Satyanarayana Rao, manager (operations) Vedula Padmavathi and relationship manager Sayyad Mohiuddin were remanded in judicial custody, Joint Commissioner of Police (Detective Department) Avinash Mohanty said.
While Rao was arrested in Vijayawada, where the society’s operations are active, the other two were taken into custody from the city.
He said that based on the complaint lodged by Telugu Akademi director Somi Reddy, a case was registered regarding withdrawal of Akademi funds of ₹43 crore by the closing of FDRs.
Accordingly, a case under Sections 409, 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 r/w 34 of the Indian Police Code has been registered and a probe was launched, he said.
“Our investigation has revealed that the society had received the FD deposits amounting to nearly ₹60 crore from a bank,” Mr Mohanty said.
He said that APMCCS had opened fake accounts in the name of Telugu Akademi in their society by accepting fake IDs. The accused are also involved in similar offences in the other two cases in Hyderabad CCS, the officer said.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior police officer associated with the investigation of the case said the process of liquidating the Akademi’s fixed deposits started nearly two months ago with the active connivance of top people in the banks, a few employees of the Akademi and a middleman (agent).
“As per their plan, the agent forged some FD bonds and submitted them to the Union Bank of India (UBI) and Canara Bank. The top people in the bank, who are involved in the fraud, quickened the process of liquidation of FDRs and transferred the money to APMCCS’s account in Agrasen Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd.,” he said, adding that the fraudsters withdrew money from APMCCS’s account and spent it.
The officer said that APMCCS got a ‘handful’ amount for opening fake accounts in the name of Telugu Akademi by accepting fake IDs and parking its money before it was withdrawn, he said.
“The entire fraud is over ₹64 crore and more persons will be arrested in a day or two” the investigator said.
On Friday too, the police questioned the officials of UBI and Canara Bank, employees of Akademi and a few individuals. UBI manager Mastan Vali and two others are likely to be arrested on Friday night or Saturday.
