Chief accountant arrested near Nanjangud for embezzling Rs 2.5 crore from Dubai hotel
Mysuru: The Udupi police have arrested a 31-year-old Indian expatriate, Nagesh Poojary, who is accused of embezzling Rs 2.5 crore from a hotel owned by Dubai's Fortune Group while serving as the chief accountant.
Poojary, a resident of Barkur in Udupi district, reportedly siphoned off the funds in a phased manner. After initially securing bail from a judicial magistrate first class court, he went absconding following the cancellation of his bail by both the district sessions court and the Karnataka High Court.
Police arrested him near Nanjangud in the Mysuru district. Poojary was subsequently presented before a court, which has remanded him in police custody for three days, until October 16, for further investigation.
Poojary joined the Dubai-based Fortune Group of Hotels, managed by Kundapur hotelier Varkady Praveen Kumar Shetty, as an accountant and was promoted to chief accountant in 2022. In 2023, he returned to India for his wedding on a three-month leave, which he later extended. After his request for an additional 15 days was denied, he resigned via email.
During a review of the hotel’s financial records, the management discovered a shortage of Rs 2.55 crore, which Poojary had allegedly embezzled by creating false entries in the accounts to cover up his cash transactions. Following the cancellation of his bail, he evaded authorities.
The government recently appointed Shivaprasad Alva, a senior law officer from Mangaluru, as the special public prosecutor to handle the case.
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Rupee falls 7 paise to 90.96 against the US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee fell by 7 paise to 90.96 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by a rise in global crude oil prices and a stronger greenback.
A poor start to the domestic equity markets further pressured the local unit, but FII inflows provided support, preventing a sharp fall, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.91 against the US dollar and slipped further to 90.96, down 7 paise from its previous close.
The rupee gained 5 paise to settle at 90.89 against the US dollar on Monday.
"The Reserve Bank might be intervening to keep the rupee away from 91.00 levels, but the buying will itself allow it to go beyond 91.00 levels," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent higher at 97.81.
"The dollar index was higher amid a repositioning... It faces headwinds from (US President Donald) Trump's 15 per cent global tariffs announcement after the unfavourable Supreme Court ruling," Bhansali said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose sharply by 0.85 per cent to USD 72.10 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex tumbled 525.29 points to 82,769.37 in early trade, while the Nifty went down 145.85 points to 25,567.15.
On Monday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 3,483.70 crore, according to exchange data.
