HEAVY DEFALCATIONS OF A BANK OFFICIAL.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8951, 6 December 1890, Page 2

HEAVY DEFALCATIONS OF A BANK OFFICIAL.

At an extraordinary meeting of the Chartered Bank of India, held in London on Wednesday afternoon, October 16th, to declare a dividend of 3£ per cent, for the half-year, Mr W. Pattison, chairman, referred to the defalcations of a native official in Calcutta. He stated that the man had been in the service of the bank for a long period, and had for eighteen years been a cashier. By intercepting money paid over the eountor and manipulating his cash statements, he had embezzled to the extent of 12 lacs of rupees, but securities would, they ought, cover 5 lacs. Of course the £50,000 which at the last meeting they refrained from placing to reserve, but put to a contingency fund on receipt of a tele gram just before the meeting, would not cover the deficiency. He, however, stated that the whole loss had been written off. To their great surprise, owing to a technical legal point, they had failed to obtain a conviction after a hearing of fourteen days. In the course of discussion, the practice pursued by the cashier of advancing money to the clerks on " chits " or notes was condemned, the system being pronounced a pernicious one, and particularly harmful now that there was so much gambling in stocks in Calcutta.