CBI Court Sentences Eight Accused to 10 Years Rigorous Imprisonment in Rs 1.97 Crore SBI Loan Fraud Case:

In connection with a bank fraud case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sentenced eight accused, including two former SBI officials and six private individuals, to Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for ten years. Additionally, a penalty of Rs 250 lakh has been imposed on five of them (Rs 50 lakh on each) and Rs 60 lakh on the remaining three accused (Rs 20 lakh on each). The CBI took this decision on July 31, 2026.

The accused have been identified as N. Gopalakrishnan, the former Branch Manager of SBI, Chengam Branch and P. Balamurali, the then Rural Marketing & Recovery Officer, SBI, Chengam Branch and six private persons namely, R. Venkataraman, S. Ravi, D. Sankar, R. Rajan, P. Pannerselvam, and T. Murugan.

The CBI had registered a case against these accused on September 23, 2011, following a complaint filed by the Regional Manager, Region-V, SBI, Chengalpet alleging that during the period between October 2007 to May 2008, three accused named N. Gopalakrishnan, K. Ravichandran, and P. Balamurali worked secretly worked with K. Purushothaman, who is the ower of M/s Kanthamma Milk Chilling Plant, Chengam Taluk and others, and sanctioned 728 diary loans amounting to Rs 2.32 crore.

The loans were allegedly approved based on forged documents and fraudulent applications without following the required banking procedures. The alleged irregularities caused a wrongful loss of Rs. 1.97 crore to the bank.

After completing the investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet dated June 25, 2013, against 10 accused persons. Charges were framed by the trial court on May 01, 2016. During the proceedings, two accused persons, K. Purushothaman and K. Ravichandran, expired, resulting in abatement of charges against them.

The court found the remaining accused guilty after examining the evidence and completing the trial. Accordingly, they have been awarded the prescribed sentences.