India, March 19 -- After a 16-year-long trial, a special CBI court has convicted a Bank of India official and four others in a Rs.3.55 crore fraud case involving a forged Letter of Credit (LC), while acquitting 11 accused.

The court held that the fraud was the result of a"criminal conspiracy" to cheat the bank, with the key accused knowingly discounting a fabricated LC in violation of banking norms, enabling diversion of funds.

Among those convicted is Manoj Kumar Omprakash Mathur, then a senior manager at the bank's Nariman Point branch, who was also found guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court found that the LC, purportedly issued by HDFC Bank's Lower Parel branch, was fake, citing multiple discrepancies, including ...