Maharagama Seylan Bank officer nabbed for cheating businessman for 44 lakhs using false signature!
Customers constantly transact business with banks because of the faith they have pinned on the officers of the bank. They have always a presumption that the cheques and cash banked by them are properly handled and therefore entertain no suspicion that they would be utilised in an anomalous manner.
However, a false signature of a certain businessman who had been as a custom depositing monies
with much trust and therefore not caring to check very much on procedures was counterfeited by a certain private bank employee and the businessman's deposits had been diverted by this employee to accounts of members of his family, it is reported recently.An officer attached to the Maharagama branch of Seylan Bank by the name of Christie Paul Fernando has thus swindled a sum of 44 lakhs in this way. What he had done was after forging the businessman's signature on vouchers, he had diverted that money to his wife's and son's bank accounts. This businessman who for the sake of better trust was in the habit of calling over at the cashier's counter and meeting the officers as well, instead of waiting in the queue and it was after a long period of time that he became aware that the former mentioned officer had engaged in a fraudulent act of this nature.
When his bank account book was scrutinised by audit officers they had developed a suspicion over accounts of monies which were not credited and on confronting the bank Manager the cat has come out of the bag. The businessman's eyes were set on a particular voucher for Rs. 27000 for which he had not placed his valid signature lying in the bank which then brought him a surprise. Later when investigations were conducted, it was found that the officer responsible for the fraud had got a transfer to the Boralesgomuwa branch from that branch and had been serving there.
In this manner it was possible to detect a sum of Rs. 44,36,900 which had been credited to his wife's and son's bank accounts through this procedure from time to time. As such, the suspect Christie Paul Fernando living in Mattegoda who was responsible for this fraud was arrested by the police and was produced in courts. Subsequently he had accepted guilty in the presence of Nugegoda Additional Magistrate Kanishka Wijeyratna. After he was ordered to deposit 10 lakhs in courts he was issued a bail of 25 lakhs. He was also prohibited from overseas travel and was released on bail. Further inquiries to proceed in future.
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