Bank of Baroda Employee Accused of Siphoning Rs 8.7 Crore from Currency Chest in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Gujarat: A Bank of Baroda employee posted at the Kalupur branch has been accused of siphoning off Rs 8.7 crore from the bank’s currency chest. The employee uploaded fake balance certificates on the RBI’s e-Kuber portal.
The RBI’s e-Kuber is the core banking solution platform used to automate and manage government transactions, fund management, and currency chest operations. Authorized banks use the Currency Management (CyM-CC) portal within e-Kuber for the electronic reporting, monitoring, and settlement of currency chest transactions
The fraud came to light during an internal audit after the employee remained absent from work for a long period. Currency chests are places where banks store cash for an entire district and distribute it to different bank branches. Branches send emails to the currency chest when they require cash, for example Rs. 20 lakh, and employees at the currency chest provide the cash to the branch. Similarly, if a branch has excess cash, it informs the currency chest through email, and employees collect the cash from the branch. Currency chests are required to report their daily cash details to the RBI through the e-Kuber portal.
According to a complaint filed at Kalupur police station on Friday by the chief manager, the accused, a resident of Chandkheda, was the joint custodian of the currency chest at the Gandhi Road branch. He went on leave on April 13 citing health issues, but did not return despite repeated calls and emails from the bank.
During the audit, officials found that 174 reams of Rs 500 notes were missing. Each ream contained 10 bundles of 100 notes each, taking the total amount to Rs 8.7 crore.
The shortage was discovered after a new custodian took charge and the physical cash was checked against official records.
The internal records falsely showed the cash as available. Officials suspect that the “bin book” and Excel sheets used for daily reconciliation were manipulated. These records were allegedly used to prepare the certificates uploaded on the RBI’s e-Kuber system.
During the inquiry, CCTV footage reportedly showed the accused entering the branch on the evening of January 13. A labourer and his son entered the branch shortly after. Later, the footage allegedly showed all three leaving the branch carrying several boxes.
The complainant said that security staff had informed him that night that the accused was taking boxes out of the premises. When questioned, the accused allegedly said that the boxes contained scrap material meant for disposal. The same explanation was also reportedly given to the security guard.
This is a big fraud and Bank must look into it.
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