E-Kantipur

BIRGUNJ, APR 28 -

Pradip Rastogi, a 22-year-old resident of Raghunathpur, Birgunj, who made 23 citizenship certificates under different names to withdraw Indian currency from border Indian towns has also been found to have had opened 55 accounts in 11 branches of Nepal SBI Bank.

Central Intelligence Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested him from Birgunj on Tuesday. Having opened accounts in SBI, he has already received 14 ATM cards while more cards were in process.

He has already got 23 checkbooks for 23 accounts. Of the seized fake citizenship certificates, three are in the name of three women with identical photographs of his sister-in-law Bindu Devi, and nine others having the photographs of his brother Sanjeev Rastogi while the rest bear his photograph.

“I got involved in trading Indian currency by withdrawing money through ATMs after I found my friend earned handsomely over a short period,” said Rastogi in police custody. Those involved in such business withdraw Indian currency from border Indian towns and sell it in the Nepali market by charging higher exchange rates. They charge as high as Rs 165 per IRs 100 although the official rate is Rs 160.

According to Rastogi, he had been using photocopies of fake citizenship certificates in the name of Bipin Pathak, Munna Kumar Rastogi and Bijaya Pandit, among others, to open bank accounts in cahoots with bank employees.

“The bank’s negligence and profit oriented tendency resulted in such crimes,” said an investigating officer. The bank has been so irresponsible that it could not prevent him from opening accounts although one of the citizenship certificates procured in 2009 bore the words’ His Majesty’s government’ although the government agencies use ‘ Nepal Government’ in official papers since 2006.

Pradeep Acharya, assistant chief of SBI bank in Birgunj said that Rastogi had only one account using his true citizenship certificate.

He opened accounts at SBI branches in Durbar Marg, Bouddha, Maharajgunj and Bhaktapur in Kathmandu Valley.

Groups affiliated to illegal currency trading queue up early in the morning at the ATM counters in India. Such groups withdraw currency in India as SBI has the lowest withdrawal charge compared to other banks. SBI charges Rs 100 per withdrawal while other banks charge up to Rs 250. “Indian guards who are kept to watch ATMs also charge Rs 20 from the Nepali illegal currency traders,” Rastogi said adding, he was into this business for the last three months.

According to him, due to cash crunch he was only trading from IC 100,000 to IC 200,000 each day. On an average, he was making Rs IC 35,000 monthly profit from the illegal currency trading. 

Rastogi said he opened 30 new accounts after Nepal Rastra Bank reduced the withdrawal amount to IRs 10,000 a day and up to IRs 100,000 a month recently.

Superintendent of Police Manoj Joshi said that Rastogi would be charged under Citizenship Act and Banking Offense Act. 

According to NRB investigation, about Rs 19 billion was withdrawn from Indian ATMs from the account of SBI, Everest, Kumari and Nepal Investment Bank during the first seven months of the current fiscal year although the size of withdrawal was just Rs 3 billion the last fiscal year.

Posted on: 2011-04-28 09:10

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