Three individuals are currently on trial for an intricate fraud scheme aimed at defrauding the National Australia Bank (NAB) of over $21 million using counterfeit bank vouchers.
Monika Singh, 42, Davendar Deo, 68, and Srinivas Naidu Chamakuri, 51, appeared today at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, where a jury was selected for the upcoming two-month trial. All three have pleaded not guilty to multiple fraud-related charges and are prepared to contest the allegations.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Norrie stated, “The crown’s case involves allegations that the accused engaged in various fraudulent activities,” emphasizing that most charges relate to actions directed against NAB.
The trio has been charged with knowingly participating in a criminal group from September 2018 to October 2020, with the intention of defrauding NAB. They are all out on bail, with Chamakuri receiving support from his daughter during the proceedings.
Both Singh and Chamakuri face four counts of attempting to dishonestly gain a financial advantage. They are accused of trying to defraud NAB in 2019 by depositing internal suspense account vouchers without the bank’s authorization, amounting to nearly $16.9 million. Deo and Singh also face similar charges for an additional $4.8 million attempt.
Moreover, Singh and Deo allegedly conspired to defraud iFRC Bank & Trust using a fraudulent NAB standby letter of credit for $50 million. Deo faces an additional charge related to using identification information from another business to facilitate the fraud.
Between May 2017 and April 2018, Singh is also accused of attempting to defraud Volvo Trucks India by presenting fraudulent bank guarantees from NAB.
Following the selection of the jury, composed of seven men and eight women, Judge Donna Woodburne provided brief directions for the case.
Norrie will begin his opening submissions tomorrow.