Rs 4.58 Crore Fraud at ICICI Bank’s Shriram Nagar Branch, Female Manager Arrested

Kota: A major fraud involving Rs 4 crore 58 lakh has been uncovered at the Shriram Nagar branch of ICICI Bank. The accused in this case is Sakshi Gupta, who worked as the relationship manager at this branch. She was arrested by the Udyognagar police for allegedly misusing her position to withdraw money from the accounts of over 100 customers. This illegal activity reportedly took place over two and a half years.

How the Fraud Happened

Sakshi Gupta used money from more than 100 bank accounts belonging to 43 different customers. She withdrew funds without their consent and invested the money in the stock market. However, instead of making profits, most of the money was lost. To hide her actions, Sakshi even changed the registered mobile numbers of several customers. This was done to prevent them from receiving transaction alerts or OTP (One Time Password) messages, which would have raised suspicion.

Complaint and Investigation

The fraud was reported by Tarun Dadhich, a bank manager at the branch. Following his complaint, the Udyognagar police began investigating. According to CI Jitendra Singh, the complaint was registered on February 18, 2025. Sakshi had been working at the branch between 2020 and 2023.

During the investigation, police found that Sakshi had been transferring money from multiple customer accounts into one particular account held by an elderly woman. Over Rs 3 crore was transferred to this account by February 15, 2023. The elderly woman was unaware of most of these transactions or the purpose of this account, which Sakshi used as a “pool account” to collect funds.

Details of the Fraudulent Transactions

• Misuse of Debit Cards and Digital Channels: Sakshi misused customers’ debit cards, PINs, and OTPs to carry out unauthorized transactions.
• Illegal Overdrafts: She fraudulently enabled overdraft facilities on 40 different accounts without the customers’ knowledge.
• Premature Closure of Fixed Deposits (FDs): Sakshi closed FDs of 31 customers before their maturity and transferred Rs 1.34 crore to unauthorized accounts.
• Unauthorized Loans: She also took a personal loan of Rs 3.4 lakh illegally using customers’ accounts.
• Mobile Number Manipulation: By changing customers’ registered mobile numbers to those of her relatives, Sakshi blocked transaction alerts and OTPs from reaching the real account holders.
• Digital and ATM Transactions: Most fraudulent transactions were carried out through Insta Kiosk, internet banking, and ATM using stolen debit card details.
• Illegal Money Transfer to Demat Accounts: She sent money to demat accounts illegally, further complicating the trail of transactions.

Arrest and Legal Action

After completing the investigation, police arrested Sakshi Gupta on May 31, 2025. She was presented in court and sent to jail after a day’s remand. The police continue to investigate to recover the lost funds and identify others who might be involved.