Three people attempted to cheat National Australia Bank (NAB) out of more than $21 million (US$14.3 million) using fake vouchers and guarantees, a jury has found.
Monica Singh, 42, Davendar Deo, 68, and Srinivas Naidu Chamakuri, 51 were convicted on Sep. 20 of a myriad of fraud-related offences following a lengthy trial in the New South Wales (NSW) District Court.
The trio were convicted on all 19 of the charges they were facing, including multiple counts of dishonestly obtain a financial advantage.
Singh was a senior associate at NAB’s Sydney branch, where she managed a portfolio of corporate clients.
In September 2018, she made an agreement with Chamakuri and another man, Shanmuganathan Gnanasothy, to use fraudulent bank guarantees to purchase property in exchange for commissions.
Two bank guarantees worth a total of $86,000 (US$58,600) were used as deposits to purchase off-the-plan apartments, crown prosecutor Andrew Norrie told the jury during the trial.
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More than $259,000 (US$176,300) in commissions were paid to Gnanasothy, who is no longer in Australia, prompting police to issue a warrant for his arrest, the jury heard.
Singh and Chamakuri also schemed to use internal bank vouchers from NAB to withdraw almost $16.9 million (US$11.5 million) in cash.
Singh provided the blank vouchers, which act like cheques, to Chamakuri, who then asked an Indian student he had befriended to fill them out and deposit them, Norrie said.
Deo and Singh were convicted of trying to cheat NAB out of a further $4.8 million (US$3.3 million) using fraudulent vouchers.
NAB did not lose any money through these schemes as staff successfully intervened to prevent the funds being transferred, the jury heard.
The trio will face a bail hearing on Sep. 23 to determine if they will be taken into custody awaiting sentence.
