Ex-bank officer sentenced to 7 years in jail for illegal exchange of demonetised notes

New Delhi, April 5

A special court in Bengaluru has sentenced a former employee of erstwhile State Bank of Mysore (now merged with SBI) to seven years of imprisonment for illegal exchange of demonetised currency notes in November 2016, officials said here on Tuesday.

The court also slapped a fine of over Rs 2.19 crore on B Dinesh, the then head cashier of the bank, they said.

“The Special Judge, CBI cases, Bangalore has sentenced B Dinesh, the then head cashier of the State Bank of Mysore at its Periyapatna branch in Mysore district, to undergo seven years rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs 2,19,35,000,” CBI Spokesperson RC Joshi said.

The CBI had filed an FIR against Dinesh for fraudulently exchanging demonetised currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 with valid banknotes to the tune of over Rs 2.18 crore during the period from November 10-23, 2016, in violation of restrictions imposed by the central government on November 8, 2016.

“It was further alleged that B Dinesh had altered the actual denominations and figures written on the deposit slips submitted by the genuine customers for crediting the said amount to their respective accounts,” Joshi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on November 8, 2016. The move was coupled with the rationing of new currency notes to be issued by a bank to a person and other accountability measures on people depositing old notes.