In a major breakthrough, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police has arrested a senior UCO Bank official for allegedly masterminding a sophisticated ₹3.25 crore loan fraud involving fabricated documents and ghost borrowers.
Shiba Kumar Das, former Branch Head of UCO Bank’s Old Secretariat Branch and later Salepur Branch, was taken into custody on Wednesday from Trisulia, Cuttack. He is scheduled to be produced before the Designated Court under the OPID Act today.
According to the EOW, Das allegedly sanctioned and disbursed 22 car loans and 2 business loans totalling Rs 3,25,43,000 between 2021 and 2025 by deliberately manipulating official records. Investigation revealed a well-planned modus operandi: the accused fabricated vehicle quotations, used already-purchased cars to show as new purchases, forged Registration Certificates (RCs), tampered with CIBIL scores, and created fake KYC documents and insurance papers.
Shockingly, the entire loan amounts were directly credited into the personal bank accounts of the accused instead of the supposed borrowers. To conceal the fraud, Das allegedly opened savings accounts in the names of fake borrowers without proper KYC and personally funded the loan repayments to maintain the illusion of genuine accounts.
Of the 24 fraudulent loans, 16 loans worth Rs 1,85,95,000 were sanctioned during his tenure at Salepur Branch, while 8 loans amounting to Rs 1,39,48,000 were processed at the Old Secretariat Branch.
During the raid, investigators seized a large number of incriminating documents, including fake loan files, fabricated salary slips, and bogus vehicle quotations.
The case was registered on June 19, 2026, based on a complaint by Smt. Varsha, Deputy General Manager and Zonal Head of UCO Bank, Cuttack. Das has been booked under multiple sections of the IPC including 409, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477A, 120B, along with Section 66(D) of the IT Act.
The EOW has stated that further investigation is underway to identify if any accomplices were involved and to trace the siphoned funds.
This arrest highlights growing concerns over internal vulnerabilities in banking institutions and the increasing sophistication of white-collar crimes in Odisha.
