A 37-year-old law graduate has been arrested in India for allegedly duping a Korea-based bank into paying the equivalent of around US875,000 on the basis of what turned out to be a fake letter of credit (L/C).

Mandar Tendulkar is accused of providing the fake L/C to a Shinhan Bank branch in Mumbai.

Loan guarantee

The Korean bank informed police of the matter, claiming that Tendulkar provided an L/C purportedly issued by UCO Bank in Calcutta.

The L/C was put up by the law graduate as a guarantee that Shinhan Bank would be repaid for a loan taken out by Tendulkar, even if he were to default on the repayments.

Bank accomplice

Tendulkar failed to make his repayments and Shinhan Bank subsequently discovered the alleged fraud when they contacted UCO Bank seeking to draw on the L/C.

According to investigators, UCO Bank had not issued an L/C but they reportedly suspect that Tendulkar may have had an accomplice at the bank in Calcutta.

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