Bhubaneswar: Two former officials of a cooperative bank were arrested in Odisha for allegedly misappropriating government funds by fraudulently creating loans against customers’ fixed deposits, officials said.
The arrested persons were identified as Dichen Kumar Mishra, former manager, and Malay Dutta, former employee of the Bahalda branch of the Mayurbhanj Central Cooperative Bank Ltd, they said.
The two accused, along with three other bank employees, allegedly created fake loan-against-term-deposit (LATD) accounts against 24 fixed deposits belonging to customers without their knowledge or consent between 2019 and 2024, they added.
The funds were subsequently siphoned off, causing a loss of Rs 64.42 lakh, officials said.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain the role of the remaining accused and the extent of the fraud, the vigilance department said.
In a separate case, the vigilance department arrested Mausam Behera, former secretary of the Sunamudi Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS) in Balangir district, for allegedly committing financial irregularities involving Rs 22.19 lakh, officials said.