Mumbai Police have registered a case against six employees of a private bank for allegedly siphoning off Rs 2 crore from the bank’s funds and diverting the money into the accounts of their family members and relatives.
The accused have been identified as Rishabh Yadav, Sagar Mishra, Ajay Yadav, Sham Sunder Chauhan, Siddhesh Fatnaik, and Vicky Shinde. All six worked at the Andheri branch of the private bank.
How the Fraud Was Detected
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Sachin Suresh Raut, the head of the bank’s Central Processing Unit (Post Account Opening Department). According to the complaint, the bank had six official accounts, and funds were illegally withdrawn from two of them.
A total of 15 employees had access to these accounts for official purposes. However, during an internal audit, the bank’s monitoring team discovered unauthorized transactions. It was found that Siddhesh Fatnaik, who worked in the UPI dispute department, had transferred funds without approval. To carry out the fraud, he allegedly used his colleague Vicky Shinde’s login ID and password.
Fatnaik reportedly transferred money into the bank accounts of Ajay Yadav, Rishabh Yadav, and Sham Sunder Chauhan. Later, the money was withdrawn in cash and handed over to Fatnaik.
Bribery to Hide the Fraud
The investigation further revealed that Sagar Mishra, another accused, discovered the financial irregularities committed by Fatnaik. Instead of reporting the fraud, Mishra allegedly demanded Rs 29.35 lakh to keep the matter a secret. He received the amount through bank accounts belonging to his family members, friends, and relatives.
Police Action and Investigation
Following the internal investigation, the bank filed a complaint with the police and submitted bank statements of the accused employees as evidence.
All six accused employees have been suspended by the bank. So far, no arrests have been made, and the police are conducting further investigations.
The accused have been booked under sections 318(4) (cheating), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by a broker or agent), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
