Lucknow, April 1 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested proclaimed offender Sameer Joshi in connection with a financial fraud case linked to the Life Insurance Corporation of India, officials said on Wednesday.

According to officials, the CBI had registered the case on August 13, 2012, based on a complaint received from LIC, Lucknow, alleging large-scale misappropriation of funds by the accused through the preparation of forged cheques for fraudulent insurance policies.

Investigators revealed that these cheques were issued in the names of non-existent policyholders, allowing the accused to siphon off funds and manipulate official records to conceal the fraud.

The financial irregularities, amounting to Rs 6,37,66,660, took place between February 2006 and August 2010 at the LIC office in Jankipuram, Lucknow, officials added.

Following the completion of the probe, the CBI filed a charge sheet on August 21, 2014, against 12 accused persons, including Sameer Joshi.

Officials said that Sameer Joshi had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Pankaj Saxena, then a Higher Grade Assistant at LIC, to generate fake cheques in the names of Joshi, his wife Anju Joshi, and his employee Jitendra Kumar.

The proceeds of these fraudulent transactions, amounting to approximately Rs 62 lakh, were encashed and shared among the accused, they added.

Joshi was initially arrested during the course of the investigation and later granted bail. However, he subsequently jumped bail and remained absconding for several years. He was officially declared a Proclaimed Offender on December 24, 2025, officials said.

Acting on fresh inputs gathered through sources, the CBI tracked his location and apprehended him from a Metro station in Lucknow on March 31.

Following his arrest, Joshi was produced before the trial court concerned on Tuesday, and it sent him to judicial custody.

–IANS

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