PNB Greater Noida 'Sector Pi' Branch Fraud: Caught On CCTV! How Employee Used 6 Logins To Transfer Customers' Money

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched an investigation into an alleged fraud involving crores of rupees at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

The case registered by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Bureau (Ghaziabad) on Thursday involved alleged diversion of funds worth crores of rupees belonging to various savings and fixed deposit account holders of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in 'Sector Pi' of Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, news agency PTI reported.

The Noida Police also filed an FIR in the case.

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The CBI named the branch's office assistant, Deepanshi Sharma, an account holder, Ashutosh Pathak, and unknown public and private persons as accused under various sections of the BNS.

They were charged with criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating, falsification of accounts, and criminal misconduct by public servants.

The complaint also names Pradeep Kumar, Membangti Devi, Priyanka Kumari, Shanti Devi, Shalini and Saroj Devi as beneficiaries. The role of each is yet to be established.

The FIR also includes sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Deepanshi has worked at the PNB Greater Noida 'Sector Pi' bank branch since 2021.

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The bank reportedly estimated the unauthorised withdrawals at ₹10.24 crore, subject to reconciliation.

Customers alleged that nearly ₹35 crore is missing from their savings accounts and fixed deposits.

Many are farmers who deposited compensation received for land acquired For Noida International Airport project, now renamed as Narendra Modi International Airport in Jewar, the Times of India reported.

How did the 'fraud' come to light?

The CBI filed the FIR after taking cognisance of a written complaint sent to it on October 23 by the Chief Manager of PNB's Noida Circle against an employee of the 'Sector Pi' branch and some other account holders.

In its complaint, the PNB said the alleged fraud came to light after an account holder approached the branch head on September 16 to report three suspicious debit transactions in her account.

On September 16, a customer, Sangeeta, visited the branch with her husband and daughter to update her passbook. She found three transactions she said she had neither authorised nor been informed about, the TOI reported.

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Deepanshi Sharma allegedly told her they were legitimate. When the matter reached branch management, she claimed Sangeeta had agreed on the phone with her husband to transfer the money to Pathak for a property investment.

The bank could not trace the corresponding vouchers, which prompted further scrutiny. Deepanshi then allegedly told officials the transfers were made on Pathak's instructions and that she had used the credentials without the officials' knowledge.

The bank said, as per PTI, that the branch has so far identified an "unauthorised" debit of ₹10.24 crore from various customer accounts, which the accused allegedly siphoned off over the last three years.

PNB's complaint said that a reconciliation exercise was underway at the branch to ascertain the exact amount that had reportedly been defrauded.

According to the Times of India, preliminary findings indicated the diversion may have begun in 2023, though the number of customers affected is yet to be established.

How was the fraud committed?

In the complaint sent to the CBI, the PNB said, as per PTI, that when the branch head questioned Deepanshi about the suspicious transactions, she "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."

According to PTI, preliminary findings indicate unauthorised use of banking credentials, manipulation of customer account particulars, diversion of customer funds, alteration of FDR (fixed deposit receipts) details, premature closure of FDRs, and routing of proceeds through beneficiary accounts.

"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.

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Deepanshi Sharma, the office assistant at Punjab National Bank's Sector Pi-1 branch in Greater Noida, emerged as a key suspect in the alleged fraud after CCTV footage showed her going to colleagues' desks when they were away and operating their workstations, the Times of India reported.

The bank reportedly suspects that Deepanshi used officials' login credentials to change customers' details and transfer money without authorisation.

In its complaint, the bank reportedly said she used the credentials of six officials, including branch manager Nisha Tirkey, senior customer service associate Sandeep Prakash Sharma, customer service associates Meenakshi and Satish Kumar, and Shailendra Kumar and Lovely Jain.

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The bank reviewed about a month of CCTV footage, which allegedly showed Sharma moving to a colleague's workstation whenever the employee stepped away.

In its complaint, the bank told CBI officials that Sharma was seen sitting at the vacant desk, looking at the screen and using the keyboard before leaving within seconds.

According to TOI, preliminary inquiry suggests a substantial portion of the money moved through at least six accounts in Jharkhand, Goa and Maharashtra before reaching an account belonging to Pathak, a resident of Aichhar.

The alleged fraud was not limited to savings accounts. According to the complaint, account holder Ashutosh Kumar Pathak and others were added as joint holders to several fixed deposits, the account details for receiving proceeds were changed, and the deposits were closed prematurely.

According to TOI, transaction vouchers were allegedly destroyed to conceal the transfers. The bank has reportedly submitted details of 49 fixed deposits

Key questions in the investigation

While the CCTV review has shed light on the modus operandi, key questions remain, including whether others at the bank were involved. Investigators said it is unlikely Sharma acted alone, the TOI reported.

They added that the appearance of an official's user ID in a transaction record does not by itself show the official took part. CBI will have to determine whether credentials were accessed without permission, shared or used with someone else's involvement, using core banking records, login histories and user activity logs.

Investigators will also examine how an office assistant obtained access to multiple officials' credentials, whether supervisory checks were bypassed and why missing vouchers and unusual transfers did not trigger earlier intervention.

They are checking whether customers' registered mobile numbers and email addresses were altered and alerts disabled, which could explain why some account holders received no notifications.

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