New Delhi, Nov 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Punjab National Bank (PNB) office assistant and a private individual in connection with an alleged Rs 10.24-crore fraud involving unauthorised withdrawals from customer accounts at the bank’s Sector Pi branch in Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested persons have been identified as Deepanshi, an office assistant posted at the branch, and Ashutosh Kumar Pathak, a private individual allegedly involved in the conspiracy.
The case was registered by the CBI on October 29 following a complaint alleging that funds had been siphoned off through unauthorised debit transactions from multiple customer accounts.
According to the agency, the bank employee allegedly acted in connivance with the private individual and other unidentified persons to carry out the fraud.
The alleged irregularities came to light after a customer reported suspicious debit transactions from her account to the bank authorities, prompting an internal inquiry.
The bank’s preliminary investigation reportedly detected unauthorised withdrawals amounting to Rs 10.24 crore from several savings and fixed deposit accounts. PNB has initiated a reconciliation exercise to determine the exact extent of the financial loss, officials said.
The CBI had registered an FIR against the accused under provisions relating to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and falsification of accounts under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology Act.
Preliminary findings indicate that banking credentials may have been misused to gain unauthorised access to customer accounts. Investigators suspect that account details were manipulated, fixed deposit records altered and funds diverted through multiple beneficiary accounts.
The office assistant allegedly misused the login credentials of other bank officials to execute unauthorised transactions and transfer the money, according to the investigation.
The private individual has been identified by the agency as an alleged key beneficiary of the fraudulent transactions.
The CBI has obtained transit remand for the private accused from the Special Court for CBI Cases in Pune, Maharashtra, to facilitate further investigation.
The agency is examining the financial transactions, tracing the diverted funds and investigating the possible involvement of other bank employees and private individuals in the alleged fraud.
