Srilanka, Jan. 7 -- Banks must take greater responsibility for the safety of depositor funds, Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama announced in court today. The observation came as the magistrate presided over a case involving the disappearance of 290 million rupees from a private bank.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested 16 suspects in connection with the incident, including two employees of the bank. The sixteenth suspect was produced before the court today and subsequently remanded.

Investigations revealed the fraud involved manipulating the bank's general ledger accounts under the guise of providing additional income for creating cards and accounts. Describing the theft of 290 million rupees as a serious ma...