Bank manager, 3 others arrested for alleged multi-crore loan fraud | Lucknow News
Pathikrit.Chakraborty Lucknow: He was everything a bank would want in an officer — young, qualified, ambitious. A B.Tech and MBA by training, Gaurav Singh, 40, climbed the professional ladder to head Union Bank of India’s Jankipuram branch. But behind the respectable title of branch manager, investigators say, Singh was running a shadowy business of his own: using his official login IDs, forged documents, and a gang of accomplices to siphon off crores through fraudulent Mudra and auto loans. The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police exposed this scam on Sunday evening, arresting Singh along with three associates — Naved Hasan, 42, Akhilesh Tiwari, 37, and Indrajeet Singh, 30 — from a plush Hazratganj apartment. According to Additional SP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh, Gaurav Singh used his position to bypass internal scrutiny. Loan aspirants were lured with promises of quick credit. “Their Aadhaar and PAN cards were collected, and their signatures obtained on stacks of documents. The victims were made to believe their loans were being processed, but in reality, the sanctioned money never touched their accounts. Instead, it was diverted to shell firms created on forged papers,” said the officer. Indrajeet Singh acted as the field operative, scouting people in need of money. Akhilesh Tiwari and Naved Hasan specialised in preparing forged documents, while Singh himself manipulated official systems, even misusing assistant managers’ login IDs to push approvals. “The racket came crashing down when Raj Bahadur Gurung, a local businessman, discovered EMI messages on loans he never took. A credit check revealed that loans worth Rs 24.8 lakh were sanctioned in his name — Rs 9.8 lakh under Mudra and Rs 15 lakh as an auto loan — both cleared through Singh’s branch,” said the ASP. The arrests led to startling recoveries: Five mobile phones, a desktop used for document forgery, fake Aadhaar copies, 268 loan-related files, two cheque books, and four luxury cars, including a BMW X1 and Suzuki Baleno. Police also seized a printer and cash. Investigators believe these assets were bought using proceeds of at least 20 fraudulent loans processed in recent years. During interrogation, Singh admitted to forming a ‘well-oiled gang’ with his associates. “We made people believe their loans would soon be credited. In reality, the funds went to accounts of fake firms we controlled. Later, we withdrew the money in cash and split it,” said the officer. The STF said that Naved Hasan, who once ran a transport firm on forged documents, confessed to being jailed earlier in 2021 for a similar fraud. His network introduced him to Singh in 2021, and from there, the collusion deepened. “With Singh inside the bank, the gang could get approvals without raising alarms. They exploited loopholes in the system for years,” said the ASP. The STF is now tracing other loans sanctioned during Singh’s tenure. Officials suspect the gang siphoned off crores of rupees across multiple banks, with more managers possibly on their payroll. Electronic devices have been sent for forensic examination, and more arrests are likely.
