CBI Court Sentences Ex-DGM, Bank of India and Five Others to 10 Years’ Rigorous Imprisonment with Fine of Rs 2.70 Crore in Bank Fraud Case:

The CBI Court in Chennai on August 19, 2026, convicted six accused, including four public servants, in a bank fraud case. The court sentenced them to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 2.70 crore.

The convicted public servants include N. Venkatachalam, then DGM of Bank of India, and M. Manichavelu, Village Administrative Officer (VAO), Government of Tamil Nadu. The two private accused convicted in the case are O.P. Thamarai Pao and P. Thandapani.

The case was registered on May 19, 2020 by the CBI on a complaint of Bank of India. The complaint said that the main accused E. Muthuswamy along with bank officials and others hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat the bank.

According to the CBI, the accused used false and fabricated documents to obtain various credit facilities and fraudulently misappropriated bank funds. The bank suffered a loss of about Rs.238.97 Lakh.

After completing its investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 12 accused, including five public servants and seven private persons.

During the trial, the case against one public servant, V. Umapathy, a suspended Senior Draftsman in the Land and Survey Department, was separated and is being heard separately in CC 18/2016.

Four private accused - E. Muthusamy, A. Vincent, K. Srikanth and M. Jothi expired during the trial, following which the charges against them were abated.

The court acquitted one accused, Smt. Lavanya. The remaining six accused were convicted and sentenced as per the court's order.