Date:29/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/29/stories/2007092961460800.htm

Tamil Nadu

Former bank official gets 7 years RI

Special Correspondent

MADURAI: A special court here sentenced a former bank official to undergo seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 20 lakh on Friday.

According to the prosecution, the accused, K. Dhakshina- moorthy, who was Manager of the Arasaradi branch of the State Bank of India in Madurai during 1999, had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs. 85 lakh. The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case against him for possessing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. During the course of investigation, it came to light that the accused had made money through fraudulent means and purchased immovable assets in Madurai. CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor R. Ponnusamy said that 109 witnesses and 329 documents were examined in the case. Special court judge C.V. Karthikeyan sentenced Dhakshina- moorthy to seven years RI. His wife D. Shyamala, who was held guilty of abetting the crime, was awarded three years imprisonment.

In Chennai, the Ninth Additional Special Judge, N. Velu, on Friday sentenced a former Indian Overseas Bank official to five years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs. 5 lakh. The prosecution said that D. Karunakaran, formerly Deputy Manager of the IOB (Secretariat Branch), had issued bogus inland letters of credit worth Rs. 1.07 crore in favour of a brick company.