CBI registers case over alleged fraud at PNB branch in Greater Noida

The CBI has filed a case over the alleged diversion of crores of rupees belonging to multiple fixed deposit (FD) and savings account holders in a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The investigative agency's Anti-Corruption Bureau (Ghaziabad) registered the FIR on Thursday (October 30) after taking cognisance of a written complaint sent on October 23. The complaint was sent by the Chief Manager of PNB's Noida Circle against an employee of the 'Sector Pi' branch and some other account holders.

The CBI disclosed the name of the branch's office assistant, Deepanshi, an account holder, Ashutosh Pathak, and unknown public and private persons. They have been accused under multiple sections of the BNS linked with criminal conspiracy, cheating, falsification of accounts, breach of trust, and criminal misconduct by public servants.

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The FIR additionally cites provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act. According to PNB’s complaint, the alleged fraud surfaced after a customer approached the branch head on September 16 to flag three suspicious debit transactions on her account.

The bank stated that its investigation has so far uncovered Rs 10.24 crore in “unauthorised” debits pulled from multiple customer accounts, which the accused is alleged to have diverted over three years. PNB noted that a reconciliation process is currently underway at the branch to determine the full extent of the suspected fraud.

FIR launched

Meanwhile, PNB on Thursday assured customers that it would respect all genuine claims, and confirmed that it had settled three claims worth Rs 43 lakh at the branch. The bank also said it was fully cooperating with the concerned officials, taking necessary actions to resolve the issues of affected customers.

In its complaint to the CBI, the bank said that when confronted by the branch head about the questionable transactions, Deepanshi, "broke down and admitted that the transactions were carried out on the instructions of one of the account holders, Ashutosh Pathak...who is known to her." "Review of system logs, user activity records and transactions prima facie revealed that multiple unauthorised transactions had been carried out in customer accounts over a substantial period of time by misusing CBS (core banking solution) user IDs belonging to different branch officials, by Deepanshi," the PNB complaint, added in the CBI FIR, stated.

Initial investigations point to several irregularities: unauthorised access to banking credentials, tampering with customer account details, diversion of customer funds, alterations made to fixed deposit receipt (FDR) records, premature closures of FDRs, and the channelling of proceeds through beneficiary accounts. Noida Police have also registered a separate FIR in connection with the case. The Noida Police also filed an FIR in the case.