The investigation centres on unauthorised transfers from customer accounts over nearly three years, allegedly carried out using branch staff’s banking credentials.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Punjab National Bank office assistant and a private individual in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 10.24 crore at the lender’s branch in Greater Noida, deepening a case that began with a customer’s complaint about suspicious debits in mid-September. The agency named the bank employee, Deepanshi, and Ashutosh Kumar Pathak as the accused and said the inquiry was still under way.
According to the complaint that triggered the probe, the matter surfaced on September 16 when an account holder raised the alarm over three doubtful transactions. Punjab National Bank then carried out an internal review and said it uncovered unauthorised debits from several customer accounts over nearly three years, with the money allegedly moved through a series of transactions that had not been approved by the account holders.
Investigators believe branch credentials were misused to carry out the transfers. The bank’s complaint said system logs and user activity records pointed to unauthorised activity using core banking solution logins belonging to branch staff, while the FIR also alleged that Deepanshi acted in concert with Pathak and other unidentified people. When questioned by the branch head, she allegedly admitted that the transactions had been made on Pathak’s instructions, according to the complaint cited by the bank.
The CBI registered its case on October 29 and has invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology Act. Pathak has been brought on transit remand from Pune, while the agency continues to examine whether other bank employees or outside parties were involved in the alleged diversion of funds.
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