Former Banker Arrested in Odisha for ₹3.25 Crore Loan Fraud

Bhubaneswar, July 1: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police arrested a former bank officer on Wednesday in connection with an alleged loan fraud exceeding ₹3 crore.

The accused has been identified as Shiba Prasad Das, who was apprehended in the Trisulia area of Cuttack district. This arrest follows a complaint lodged on June 19 by Varsha, the Deputy General Manager and Regional Head of UCO Bank’s Cuttack branch.

In her complaint, the manager alleged that Das manipulated government records and created fake documents to approve and distribute 22 car loans and two business loans, resulting in significant financial losses for the bank.

Das is accused of committing fraud while serving as the branch head of UCO Bank’s Old Secretariat branch in Cuttack from 2021 to 2024, and later at the Salepur branch from 2024 to 2025.

During the investigation, EOW officials discovered that Das issued fake quotations for vehicle purchases to fraudulently secure and distribute car loans. Furthermore, multiple car loans were approved for vehicles that had already been purchased, misrepresented as new acquisitions.

The EOW reported that further investigation revealed Das manipulated copies of CIBIL records and prepared forged registration certificates, KYC documents, insurance papers, and other vehicle-related documents to facilitate the loan process. By employing these tactics, he fraudulently approved and distributed 22 UCO car loans and two business loans.

Police also found that the total loan amount of ₹3,25,43,000 was directly deposited into Das’s personal bank accounts.

Additionally, it was uncovered that Das opened savings bank accounts in the names of some borrowers without obtaining the necessary KYC documents and other mandatory records, solely to facilitate the repayment of fraudulently approved loans.

The investigation further revealed that the loan amounts deposited into these accounts were allegedly provided by Das himself, obscuring the actual source of repayment and misleading borrowers into believing they were regularly servicing their loan accounts.