Kalutara SDB Bank fraud probe sees manager and secretary arrested over alleged Rs. 150 million misappropriation from deposits.
Kalutara SDB Bank fraud allegations have led to the arrest of a branch manager and secretary over a suspected Rs. 150 million financial irregularity.
The two suspects, attached to an SDB bank branch established in the Kalutara area, were arrested by officers from the Kalutara Crime Division following preliminary investigations into what police describe as a large-scale fraud.
According to investigators, the two bank officials are suspected of misappropriating nearly Rs. 150 million from the bank’s total deposit assets of approximately Rs. 170 million through various fraudulent schemes.
Police said details uncovered through bank audit reports revealed that only around Rs. 20 million had been properly issued as loans to members of the bank.
The remaining funds, investigators believe, had been fraudulently misappropriated in violation of banking regulations.
Preliminary investigations have also uncovered evidence that the bank manager had directly embezzled Rs. 2.5 million, while the secretary had allegedly embezzled Rs. 1.4 million.
Further investigations have revealed that, although banking rules limited the maximum loan amount an individual could obtain to Rs. 500,000, more than Rs. 51 million had allegedly been granted illegally as loans to relatives of the two suspect officers.
Investigating officers have also found that a massive sum of Rs. 60 million had gone missing without being recorded in any documents or bank records.
Police have confirmed that the arrested manager is a resident of the Panvila, Kottagoda area in Kalutara South.
The arrested secretary is a resident of the Adhikarigoda area in Kalutara South.
The Kalutara Crime Division is continuing further investigations into the alleged large-scale financial fraud.
