Ahmedabad: A special CBI court here has sentenced a former bank manager and two others to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a bank fraud case related to 2012–13.

The court convicted bank manager Bhagwati Prasad, assistant manager Bhaskar Soni, and borrower Jayendrasinh Makwana for causing a loss of more than ₹53 lakh to UCO Bank through a fraudulent loan transaction.

According to the prosecution, the bank officials conspired with the borrower to sanction a loan under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme, which is meant to provide collateral-free loans to small businesses. However, the accused allegedly ignored mandatory procedures while approving the loan, which later became a non-performing asset, leading to financial loss to the government-backed fund.

The case began with a CBI complaint in 2013, and the trial continued for more than a decade. Apart from the jail term, the court also imposed heavy fines to compensate for the loss. Bhagwati Prasad was directed to pay ₹50 lakh, while Bhaskar Soni and Jayendrasinh Makwana were fined ₹30 lakh and ₹53 lakh, respectively. DeshGujarat