World | India
Ex-bank worker arrested for fraud linked to militants
A former employee of an international bank, arrested last month for allegedly siphoning off $420,000 (Dh1.54 million) from customers' accounts, has links with Pakistan-based militants, police said yesterday.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 July 15, 2006
New Delhi: A former employee of an international bank, arrested last month for allegedly siphoning off $420,000 (Dh1.54 million) from customers' accounts, has links with Pakistan-based militants, police said yesterday.
Nadeem Kashmiri, who was sacked from an Indian unit of British-based HSBC bank, "showed signs of deception" during interrogation and lie detector tests when he was asked "target questions," police Inspector General Sushant Mahapatra said.
Mahapatra said Kashmiri was asked about certain contacts at the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group and their activities. "We have conclusive evidence that he knew about these contacts," Mahapatra said.
Authorities suspect Lashkar may have been involved in Tuesday's bombings of commuter trains in Mumbai, India's financial capital.
Although officials have stopped short of blaming Lashkar for the attacks, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the bombers had help from "across the border," a clear reference to Pakistan.
Warning
He also warned that the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals would be in jeopardy if Pakistan does not stop harbouring terrorists whom India accuses of fanning a separatist campaign in the Jammu-Kashmir.
Kashmiri was arrested on June 27 over accusations that he was involved in siphoning off about £233,000 (Dh1.54 million) from the accounts of 20 HSBC customers in Britain.
Kashmiri, a native of Bangalore, worked for HSBC Electronic Data Processing India Ltd. The unit handles the bank's back-office work from an outsourcing centre in Bangalore, India's technology hub, where Kashmiri is currently being held.
Mahapatra, contacted in Bangalore, said investigators also carried out sophisticated tests on Kashmiri to determine if he had joined HSBC with any prior motive. He is alleged to have provided false information about his educational qualifications to get the job.
The investigation focused on his knowledge of alleged money laundering by Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's spy agency, and whether he knew his associates in the alleged bank fraud had links with Lashkar, Mahapatra said.
"The major findings supported by the tests are indicative of the possession of knowledge," Mahapatra said.
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