Woman Employee Among Accused in Rs 10.24 Crore PNB Branch Fraud
A woman employee of a Punjab National Bank branch in Greater Noida's Sector Pi is among those under scrutiny in an alleged Rs 10.24 crore fraud involving customer accounts. The Central Bureau of Investigation has now registered an FIR to probe the matter, according to information shared by sources on Friday.
Preliminary findings by the bank suggest that the employee used the user IDs and passwords of other officers to withdraw funds from customer accounts without the account holders' consent. Investigators allege that the money was subsequently transferred to accounts held by her accomplices. The alleged misconduct is said to have continued for around three years.
The CBI's Anti Corruption Branch in Ghaziabad registered the case on Thursday, signalling the seriousness with which the agency is treating the allegations.
In its complaint, PNB has put the unauthorised withdrawals at approximately Rs 10.24 crore, drawn from the accounts of multiple customers. The bank has identified Deepanshi, Ashutosh Pathak, Pradeep Kumar, Membanti Devi, Priyanka Kumari, Shanti Devi, Shalini, Saroj Devi and other unknown persons as those allegedly responsible for the money being taken out.
The bank has said that it is still reconciling all transactions linked to the affected accounts. It has cautioned that the number of impacted customers and beneficiaries may grow as the probe advances, which means the overall sum involved could change.
The complaint further contains details of suspicious fixed deposit activity. It lists 49 FDs and the amounts transferred after these deposits were closed, which total Rs 7,023.77 lakh. This figure is distinct from the Rs 10.24 crore cited as the alleged fraud, and investigators will need to determine how the two numbers relate to each other.
The FIR has been lodged against Deepanshi, Ashutosh Pathak and other private persons and unidentified government employees. The charges fall under Sections 61(2), 316, 318 and 344 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 66 read with Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.