The Bankster (Ravi Subramanian)

by Ravi Subramanian

  ‘And Indrani, I even spoke to a few branch managers,’ Hemant continued. ‘They don’t have the courage to check these RMs because of the perception that these RMs are close to Vikram. And using that to their advantage, these RMs opened sixty-eight fraudulent accounts which have been used as a conduit for laundering over two hundred crore rupees. And worse, none of the Branch Managers want to confront these account holders and classify these accounts as a suspicious transaction monitored account because in the branch-banking world there is a perception created by these RM’s that these are Vikram’s references.’

  Vikram was aghast. He didn’t know any of those relationship managers. How could Tanuja double-cross him? He was not ready to believe that Tanuja could have fabricated those mails.

  ‘My email ID is accessed by multiple people, including my secretary and a few people in the department. They have the right to send and receive emails from my ID. We need to investigate this further to get to the bottom of this before we affix the blame on one individual.’ Tanuja’s defence was a good one. But she was not prepared for what came next.

  ‘We can do that Tanuja, but before that, can you take a look at this list and see if any name rings a bell?’ Karan handed her the same list he had given Vikram earlier.

  Tanuja refused to be drawn into a conversation with Karan. In what she considered a direct snub to Karan, she looked at Indrani and answered Karan’s question. ‘I don’t remember these cases Indrani. I will check and get back to you.’

  ‘Do you know these guys at all?’ Karan ignored the snub and handed her the list with thirteen names.

  ‘No, I don’t think I know them.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t know them?’

  ‘I may know of one or two of them but I don’t know any of them well enough.’

  ‘Then how do you explain this?’ Karan handed her the mobile bill reimbursements for the last few months.

  ‘What is this?’

  ‘According to this bill, there are fifteen people you call every day. One I presume is your husband, one is Vikram and the other thirteen are these thirteen RMs. If you don’t know them, why do you call them every day?’

  ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’

  ‘Indrani,’ Karan continued, ‘these are the last three months’ telephone bills claimed by Tanuja, which you have approved. I have marked the numbers I was talking about. I can’t figure out why she calls them every day, when there are members in her team that she doesn’t talk to for days together. I guess she has the responsibility to herd them together and make sure they do what she wants them to do. Right?’

  ‘Karan!’ cried Tanuja. ‘This is a serious invasion of privacy. And Indrani, I don’t think you should keep quiet. I can take shit from you, but not from an outsider. . .and that too in front of junior colleagues,’ she pointed at Kavya and Hemant while stating this.

  ‘Maybe privacy will be a bit too much to expect after we finish whatever we have to say,’ Hemant too joined in. He was extremely pissed at the way Tanuja had exploited the system to her advantage.

  ‘Shut the fuck up Hemant.’ Tanuja was close to tears. She had never been put in such a position in her career. She was being pushed into a corner and she was trying to fight back.

  ‘Karan,’ said Indrani. ‘You are really worrying me. Can you please stop being dramatic and tell me what the real story is?’

  ‘Indrani, pardon me for this long preamble. It was necessary in order to reveal to you the character of someone who is held in such high esteem within GB2.’

  ‘So? Now what?’

  ‘Indrani, humour me for some time. I won’t take too long. Please let me do it my way.’ He turned to Tanuja, ‘Raymond Saldanah was found hanging from a bridge, yesterday morning. Why did he call you the previous night?’

  ‘I didn’t speak to him.’

  ‘Are you sure Tanuja?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Great. Can you please give me a print out of Tanuja’s telephone extension?’ Karan extended his hand towards Kavya, who gave him a piece of paper. ‘Thanks. There you go Tanuja. Day before yesterday night, the night Raymond was killed, he spoke to you once for twelve minutes at 6.48 p.m. The detailed print out of the call records, that you have in your hand now, prove that. Thank God for technology Indrani. EPABXs these days register the incoming numbers too.’

  ‘The mobile service provider too confirmed the calls, when I spoke with them this morning,’ Hemant added.

  ‘Also after this call Tanuja, Raymond tried your number nine times and each time it went to voice mail. What was it that Raymond was trying to tell you? What was the conversation that you had with him?’ Karan was unrelenting.

  Tanuja was dumbstruck. She had not expected this. ‘I don’t know where this is heading. You guys have pre-conceived notions about me. I am not answering any more questions. I need to talk to my lawyer.’ She flung the print out of the call records of her extension at Karan and turned towards the door.

  ‘Tanuja, please stay. Else you will be forcing us to take action against you.’ By then, Indrani had realized that Karan was not entirely wrong in his hypothesis. At the same time, Jacqueline walked into the room. ‘Indrani, ACP Vishnu Shome is here. He is asking for Francis.’

  Everyone in the room, with the exception of Kavya, knew that ACP Vishnu Shome was the Assistant Commissioner of Police for South Mumbai and was one of the most influential officers in Mumbai’s Police department.

  Francis got up from where he had been silently sitting and watching the entire saga unfold. ‘I’ll go bring him.’

  The colour of Tanuja’s face changed when she saw the ACP walk in with Francis. She knew that she was cornered. ‘I need to speak to my lawyer before saying anything else.’ Her voice had sobered down a bit, thanks to the ACP’s presence.

  ‘Okay. If she does not want to answer any questions let me brief you.’ When Karan said this, Indrani nodded, ‘Go on.’ By then, pleasantries had been exchanged between the top cop of South Mumbai and Francis.

  ‘Before we get to Raymond, let me start with Pranesh. One fine day Pranesh meets with an accident. . .or rather something that looked like an accident. It was, in fact, cold-blooded murder. Pranesh had a history Indrani. He was earlier in the Thane branch. He had been accused of being negligent while accepting cash from the customers. Counterfeit notes were pumped into the banking system through him. On a daily basis, two specific account-holders of other branches would come and exchange amounts in the range of tens of lakhs in cash for smaller denomination notes. That was what everyone believed. The fact was that they were exchanging counterfeit notes for genuine ones. They would deposit lakhs of rupees in counterfeit currency and Pranesh would happily exchange it and give them genuine currency. Two to three crores of counterfeit notes came into circulation in the banking system every month. Everything was fine till one day, Raymond, who was posted in the Thane branch, saw him meet the same guys outside the branch and he decided to look into it. Around the same time, some Thane branch customers complained about counterfeit notes being found in their thousand rupee bundles.

  Raymond did a surprise check and found out that twenty per cent of the cash in Pranesh’s cash box was counterfeit. Pranesh’s defence was that the cash came in through a large customer who had deposited thirty lakhs that day. It created quite a ruckus. The issue was hushed up because GB2 was scared about its reputation and brand image. Even a single counterfeit note found needs to be reported to the RBI, let alone such a huge haul. The counterfeit notes found in Pranesh’s cash box were destroyed, and the amount was somehow adjusted. The issue was hushed up. The customer was asked to shut his account and Pranesh was moved to the Bandra branch. They did not have enough evidence of Pranesh’s involvement in the counterfeit currency scandal. Had the bank taken action against him, the bank staff union would have got involved and the issue would have come into focus and blown into a media scandal, or so everyone thought. But what people don’t know is that it was Tanuja who d
angled this staff union issue blowing up as a sword on the heads of Vikram and Juliana and used it as a tool to defend Pranesh in these investigations and orchestrated his move to Bandra. He got a fresh lease of life. Why did Tanuja support him? She could have got rid of him and the union would not have even created a whimper. They have never supported anyone caught in an integrity trap.’

  ‘Yes. There is a mail that Tanuja had sent me. I think it was marked to Juliana as well,’ Vikram volunteered. ‘She was categorical that we will get into issues with the union and the entire counterfeit issue will come out in the open if we took action against Pranesh. That was the key reason we dropped all action and just cautioned him for his negligence in accepting counterfeit notes.’ He was simmering at the thought of Tanuja having taken him for a ride. ‘I will have a copy of that mail on file.’

  Indrani looked at Vikram and then at Karan. ‘So are you saying that Tanuja orchestrated his move to Bandra? And how did you get to know this in one day?’

  ‘We did a sweep of Raymond’s desk last night. We saw the full note on this in one of his drawers. In the note he does not suspect Tanuja of any wrongdoing; he only says that she might have been worried of the union’s response, which led to her supporting Pranesh. Here’s the note. Raymond had sent this to Juliana, but she chose to ignore it.’

  ‘Then why are you blaming Tanuja for it?’

  ‘Because I haven’t yet told you the entire story yet.’

  ‘Go on. . .’

  ‘What Raymond didn’t know is that Tanuja saved Pranesh because if she hadn’t, he would have exposed her.’

  ‘As in?’

  ‘The account that was involved in this counterfeit business was opened by one of the RMs brought in by Tanuja who was intricately involved with the money laundering business and counterfeit trade.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Indrani asked, sounding dazed.

  ‘Yes Indrani.’ Karan was sure of every word coming out of his mouth. ‘Tanuja hired these thirteen RMs who then opened the sixty-eight fraudulent accounts, which were then used to launder money both from within the country and overseas. Pranesh was roped in to help them in the counterfeit business. Whether Pranesh was a part of an elaborate strategy or just stumbled into this plan, I don’t know.’

  ‘Okay.’ Creases appeared on Indrani’s face.

  ‘At some point in time, Pranesh became greedy and turned rogue. He started blackmailing Tanuja.’

  ‘And how do you know this? I am sure the note that Raymond left behind does not cover this.’

  ‘At about 4.00 p.m. on the day he died, Nikhil had overheard Pranesh speak to someone about a cash transaction. Pranesh was on his phone, oblivious of the fact that Nikhil could hear him. He was saying that if he didn’t get the cash, then he would speak to others in the bank and that would prove to be embarrassing for the individual on the other side of the call. Nikhil told me this when I met him last evening. I checked with my contacts at Vodafone this morning. The only call Pranesh has made between 3.00 and 5.00 p.m. from his mobile was to Tanuja. And the call went on for eighteen minutes. He was blackmailing Tanuja and she chose to eliminate him. There were no incoming calls to his mobile during that period.’

  ‘I must say, you’re a great script writer,’ Tanuja said sarcastically.

  ‘Oh yes. Wait till you hear the remainder of the story. It’s a blockbuster.’

  ‘With Pranesh out of the way, she had everything working for her. Complete control over the RMs who danced to her tunes. She became smarter after the Pranesh episode and would be in touch with them every single day to make sure that they didn’t go the Pranesh way. She kept a tab on what they did, who they met, what they spoke. She needed an update on everything they did.’

  ‘Hmm. . .’ Indrani was all ears.

  ‘All was fine till Raymond got wind of Asia Logistics. His intuition told him that something was not right. He tried to investigate the account but met with resistance at every level. His boss was too scared to take on anyone who was close to you. She was happy being in Vikram’s and your good books. Raymond didn’t get any support from her. This is anecdotal though. Raymond then tried to ask the branch some uncomfortable questions, but Zinaida, who was one of Tanuja’s thirteen RMs, was up to the task. She managed the queries quite well. In fact, these RMs were trained to make every account opening appear perfect and genuine. If one were to go by the documents and memos which have been attached to the account opening form, no one can point a finger at her—the documents are impeccable. She has done a great job covering her back. In fact, the account opening documentation of all the sixty eight accounts is flawless.’

  Tanuja was getting fidgety. Her nervousness showed as she restlessly shifted from one leg to the other.

  Karan didn’t pay any heed to her frame of mind and went on, ‘This phase too would have passed had Harshita not been close to Raymond. As luck would have it, she landed in Vienna.’

  ‘I know this angle.’ Indrani referred to the discussions earlier that day.

  ‘The remittances into the account of Asia Logistics came from a boutique bank in Liechtenstein. The remitter, Union of Jews Foundation, had a Vienna address. Raymond had figured out that these sixty-eight accounts were benami accounts, which were being used to launder money and would also have figured out the UJF angle. The reputation of Liechtenstein as a tax haven also increased his suspicions. In fact Indrani, Raymond had asked for the same data that we asked for. So I am reasonably confident that he would have arrived at the same conclusion. Raymond asked Harshita to check out the veracity of the organization—whether it existed and if the address was correct.’

  ‘How can you be so sure? Both Raymond and Harshita are dead.’ Francis asked Karan. He had not been a party to the discussion with Malvika and hence was not aware. Karan and Hemant took turns in taking Francis and Vishnu Shome through their findings about Harshita, her Skype with Raymond, Raymond’s request to check out the address, the morning discussion with Malvika etc.

  ‘Harshita went to visit the address that night, found it, and got killed.’ Karan looked at Vishnu Shome and then at Tanuja.

  ‘It was an accident,’ Tanuja intervened.

  ‘Not if one were to go by the press release Tanuja.’ So overconfident was Tanuja that she had missed reading the contents of the press release that she herself had forwarded to Indrani the night before.

  ‘We don’t even know if they found the address of UJF.’

  ‘Of course we know. They did find the address. They even went to the office.’

  ‘How the fuck do you know this? Please make sure you have your facts in place before spinning tales and accusing someone,’ Tanuja was beginning to get hysterical.

  ‘Here, take this,’ and he gave both Tanuja and Indrani a sheet. ‘This is a picture Harshita had clicked outside the office of UJF the night that she died.’

  ‘I have seen these. It proves that Harshita went there and was killed as a consequence. But still does not prove Tanuja’s involvement. I refuse to believe that Tanuja could have played a part in killing someone.’ Indrani still wasn’t completely convinced.

  ‘Indrani you will, once I’m done.’

  ‘I hope not.’ Indrani turned her face away from Karan. She was praying that what Karan was insinuating wasn’t true. ACP Vishnu Shome who was standing next to Indrani’s table, took the picture from Indrani and looked at it intently.

  ‘How did you manage to get this image?’

  ‘Harshita had clicked this and a few other photos that night, before they got caught. When on the run, she happened to pass by the same Café Coffee Day outlet that they had visited in the evening. When she was calling out to them for help, which is what the press release says, her iPhone automatically connected to the store’s Wi-Fi, and all the photos that she had taken got uploaded to iCloud. She was logged on to iCloud on Malvika’s iPad, which she had configured while gifting it to Malvika. And bingo, all the photos taken on the iPhone appeared on the iPad.’ He turned to stare at
Tanuja. ‘The photo you have in your hand Tanuja, is the first of the pictures taken outside the office of UJF.’

  ‘I feel so sorry for her.’

  ‘Here are the other pictures Indrani.’ Tanuja strained her neck to see what those pictures were but Indrani was reasonably far from her and she couldn’t make it out.

  ‘Why are you showing this to me again?’ Indrani’s expression changed as she saw the photos again, one by one. Her face betrayed her anxiety, which quickly turned to frustration, followed by horror and finally, anger. The pictures had been taken from a distance and hence all objects appeared to be small. However, this time she had her reading glasses on and hence could see what was going on, though the faces were still not clear.

  ‘Jacks!’ Karan shouted loudly.

  Jacqueline walked in. She had a packet in her hand which she gave Karan. The latter opened it, pulled something out and handed it over to Indrani.

  45

  Vienna

  Office of the Deputy President of Police

  1st February 2012, Morning (Vienna time)

  ‘Sir,’ a voice reverberated over the speaker phone, when an irritated Johann Schroeder pressed the button on the instrument lying on the table in front of him. The phone had disturbed his preoccupied thoughts about the two Indian tourists.

  ‘Yes’, he snarled into the speakerphone. ‘Yes Karl. What is it?’ Karlis Simanis was the head of the Forensics division of Vienna police.

  ‘You need to get down here to see something Johann.’

  ‘What is it Karl?’