GAURESH SATTARKAR
CURCHOREM: The Curchorem police have busted a major fraud operation that saw unsuspecting senior citizens robbed of lakhs by a woman who allegedly posed as a bank employee, gained their trust, and accessed their bank accounts to siphon off their money.
The woman in question, Tanvi Vast, a resident of Curchorem, and Anand Jadhav, the manager of the Central Bank of India’s Curchorem branch, have been arrested and remanded in two days’ police custody. Police suspect that as the investigation progresses, the extent of the fraud could touch crores.
The fraud came to light after multiple complaints of unauthorized transactions and cash misappropriation by elderly account holders. The police believe the arrested duo acted with deliberate intent to cheat multiple victims over an extended period.
South Goa SP Sunita Sawant has transferred Inspector Vaibhav Naik of the Curchorem Police Station to the South Goa Reserve Police Division pending further review of his conduct. The transfer order cites negligence in handling the case, which has drawn public and departmental scrutiny.
The four complaints below were instrumental is exposing the fraud operation:
FIRST COMPLAINT
On July 2, 2024, Tanvi contacted Rosalina Correa, Anthony Dias, and Wodlemol Cacora and encouraged them to deposit gold ornaments at the Curchorem branch.
Dias brought gold items reportedly valued at Rs 25 lakh to the bank, but Tanvi allegedly replaced them with fakes. The fraud came to light on September 18, 2024, when discrepancies were discovered during a review of the deposited items.
SECOND COMPLAINT
Cristalina Coutinho, a resident of Sasnamoddi, Curchorem, lodged a complaint on May 27, 2024, alleging that Rs 14,28,000 was transferred from three of her family’s bank accounts to another account at Central Bank of India’s Curchorem Branch without her knowledge or consent. The complaint names Tanvi, the branch manager and other bank staff. A case has been registered and a PSI is investigating the case.
THIRD COMPLAINT
Severina Fernandes, a 53-year-old resident of Chirknali, Cacora, Curchorem, reported that on July 31, 2023, she was fraudulently induced to transfer Rs 1.4 lakh from her account at the Central Bank of India, Cacoda Branch. Additionally, Tanvi also took an alleged sum of Rs 2.64 lakh in cash from her. The accused in this case are Tanvi and manager of the Cacora branch.
FOURTH COMPLAINT
A complained filed by Pascolo Vaz stated that Tanvi approached him with an offer to invest Rs 1.5 lakh in an FD for senior citizens and he handed over the amount to her. However, it was later discovered that the investment certificate was bogus, and no legitimate fixed deposit had been created in his name.