Former Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Suresh N. Patel has been appointed the chairman of an advisory board to examine the role of top bank officials in fraud cases. The board, known as the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF), will investigate fraud cases involving sums of money of Rs 3 crore and above in public sector banks, public sector insurance companies, and public sector financial institutions.

Apart from Patel, the other members of the board include Ravikant, a former secretary of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Rajni Kant Mishra, a former director general of the Border Security Force, David Rasquinha, ex-MD of the EXIM Bank, and Partha Pratim Sengupta, ex-MD and CEO of the Indian Overseas Bank.

According to the order issued by the Central Vigilance Commission, the chairman and members of the board will serve a tenure of two years starting from August 21, 2023.

The ABBFF’s main objective is to examine the role of all levels of officials, including whole-time directors and ex-officials, in case of frauds amounting to Rs 3 crore and above. It will provide advice to public sector banks, public sector insurance companies, and public sector financial institutions before the initiation of criminal investigations. The competent authority will consider the advice tendered by ABBFF regarding the involvement of criminality or malafide of the officials.

The order further states that all public sector banks and public sector financial institutions must refer all cases of frauds amounting to Rs 3 crore and above to the ABBFF for advice before initiating criminal investigations. The investigating agencies will take into account the advice of the board while taking consequential actions in such cases.

The Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have the authority to refer any case or technical matter to the board for its advice.

Additionally, the ABBFF can provide inputs for policy formulation related to frauds to the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Vigilance Commission.

The order emphasizes that the ABBFF should provide its advice within a month of receiving the initial reference from ministries, departments, the Central Vigilance Commission, or the CBI.