Bengaluru: Chartered accountant arrested in Rs 168 crore e-Bank Guarantee fraud

Bengaluru: A chartered accountant has been arrested for allegedly duping 11 private companies by giving them fake electronic bank guarantees worth Rs 168 crore, Bengaluru police said on Wednesday.

The accused, 45-year-old Noida-based Ashish Roy alias Ashish Saxena, was detained by immigration officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after he returned from Kuwait, they said.

A lookout notice was also issued against him in February by the Bengaluru Police.

According to the police, the matter came to light after an official from National E-Governance Services Limited filed a case of cheating when it was found out that the e-bank guarantees submitted by these companies were fake.

Investigation revealed that the accused used his professional network and approached chartered accountants and financial advisers of these private companies on the pretext of providing them e-bank guarantee certificates and received Rs five crore as a commission.

He was allegedly operating from Kuwait with the help of his accomplice who is yet to be traced, a senior police officer said.

Among the 11 private companies, nine are based out of Bengaluru, he said.

Police said two laptops, six mobile phones, and 10 checkbooks from different bank accounts have been recovered from his possession.