As many as 49 bank employees have been arrested in Chennai this year for their alleged role in unauthorised withdrawals and financial fraud. This incident has raised serious concerns about insider misuse within banks.
According to a senior officer of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), at least 18 cases of fraud, forgery and misappropriation have been registered so far. Investigators have identified 67 accused, including bank staff and managers. Of these, 49 have been arrested, 12 are absconding, and six others have been summoned for questioning.
The investigations are being handled by cybercrime and economic offences teams, along with bank fraud units. In many cases, internal audits and customer complaints exposed irregular transactions, which later led to arrests. Those arrested include clerks, cashiers and branch-level staff, accused of carrying out transactions without the knowledge or consent of account holders.
Several high-value fraud cases involved Non-Resident Indian (NRI) accounts. In one major case, relatives of an NRI couple living in the US reported unauthorised withdrawals from their IndusInd Bank accounts in Anna Nagar. Police found that around ₹1.43 crore had been siphoned off over five years by forging signatures and misusing cheques and cash vouchers. Further probe revealed that multiple NRI fixed deposits were targeted, causing losses of nearly ₹8 crore. Three bank employees, including a deputy manager and cashiers, were arrested in August.
In another incident, a bank manager and staff members allegedly pledged 162 sovereigns of a customer’s gold jewellery by forging signatures and took loans in the names of inactive account holders. The fraud came to light after the customer repeatedly failed to receive the loan amount and later learned that the manager had been suspended.
In a separate case, a former YES Bank branch manager is accused of forging documents to siphon off more than ₹7.5 crore from NRI investments before fleeing the country. A Red Corner Notice has been issued against him.
Police officials say investigations are still underway and more arrests are likely as financial trails are examined and fresh complaints continue to emerge.
Public not safe