India, Oct. 18 -- A special CBI court on Wednesday convicted five people, including the former branch manager and loans officer of the Oriental Bank of Commerce and the directors of two bogus firms in a Rs.2.88-crore fraud case dating back to 1998-99 and sentenced them to two years of rigorous imprisonment.

Special Judge B.Y. Phad observed that the accused had "entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat Oriental Bank of Commerce, Turbhe branch, by fraudulently issuing and accepting Letters of Credit without genuine underlying transactions, thereby causing wrongful loss to the bank and corresponding gain to themselves."

According to the court, the offences occurred between January 1998 and February 1999, when the then branch manager, V ...