CHENNAI: A major financial fraud has been uncovered at the Sri Lankan Airlines office in Chennai, where two employees responsible for handling funds allegedly embezzled Rs 2.20 crore. Police have registered a case based on a complaint from the airline and have launched a manhunt for the two suspects.
The duo had diverted the money to various accounts and covered their tracks by submitting fake receipts and forged documents. This incident is part of a larger fraud affecting the airline.
Police have registered a case based on a complaint from the airline and have launched a manhunt for the two suspects. This incident is part of a larger fraud affecting the airline.Investigations reveal that SL Airlines has been hit by a combined fraud of nearly Rs 10 crore across its Chennai and Dubai operations, prompting parallel probes by police in Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Chennai. In the Dubai case, a service provider reported that payments worth Rs 8 crore had not been received. However, the airline claimed the amount had already been transferred based on email instructions.
Investigators later discovered that unidentified individuals had compromised the service provider’s email account, using it to divert funds through fraudulent transactions.
SL Airlines has since filed complaints with the Criminal Investigation Department in both Dubai and Sri Lanka, where officials are now probing suspected cyber fraud and money diversion.
Back in Chennai, while the airline’s complaint detailed the Rs 2.20 crore misappropriation involving fake receipts and forged payment records, city police have not registered this as a separate case. Sources said the police have instead initiated an investigation based on the airline’s original complaint.
Preliminary inquiries have confirmed the use of forged financial documents, and efforts are ongoing to trace all individuals involved. Police continue to search for the employees suspected in the fraud.