India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two men who allegedly siphoned off the equivalent of around US$14 million from Bank of India (BOI) using forged letters of credit (L/Cs) in 2011.

Sachin Shah and Rajesh Chordia are alleged to have invested the proceeds of their crimes in film productions, real estate and offshore accounts.

Forgery gang

The two men are suspected of conspiring with a Bhopal-based gang which investigators say has a reputation for forging L/Cs.

Shah and Chordia allegedly obtained from the gang a total of 48 fake L/Cs with which they managed to siphon off around US$14 million from BOI's Mumbai division.

Phone diverted

The BOI believed the L/Cs had been properly confirmed but, according to the CBI, the Bopal-based gang diverted the landline number of the bank in whose name the forged L/Cs were issued to their mobile phones.

This enabled the conspirators to appear to confirm the L/Cs and cash the proceeds.

International investigation

The CBI also wants to question two men who reside outside India in respect of these alleged frauds.

They are Sajjan Kumar and Govind Salgaonkar, who live in Dubai and Malaysia. The CBI has issued an international warrant for their arrest.

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