Liberal Banker

Between 1991 and 1996, Indian Bank blatantly ignored RBI guidelines and sank over Rs 10 crore in sponsoring events and donations to private individuals, trusts and institutes.

IF Gopalakrishnan aimed to win a popularity contest, he was moving in the right direction. The only problem was that he seemed to consider Indian Bank's money as a free commodity that could be distributed at whim. Documents with Outlook, which include a report submitted by the RBI's Department of Supervision to the CBI, show a maze of violations.

The RBI report dated April 22, 1997, shows that between 1991 and 1996, Indian Bank blatantly ignored RBI guidelines and sank over Rs 10 crore in sponsoring events and donations to private individuals, trusts and institutes.

On August 1, 1992, Gopalakrishnan donated Rs 3.5 lakh to his alma mater, Pachaiyappa College, Chennai. Purpose? Provision of tables and chairs for the college (where MVR also studied).
On July 1, 1992, Gopalakrishnan sponsored a nameplate outside the then Tamil Nadu director-general of police Sripal's office. The cost: Rs 90,000.
In 1995, the deputy commissioner (traffic), Tamil Nadu police, was given Rs 2 lakh for furnishing his conference hall.

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