The branch manager of an ICICI Bank branch has admitted having committed fraud by forging the signature of an NRI customer. In a complaint letter dated January 6, 2024, to Vikas Puri Police Station in Delhi, ICICI Bank said, "It is pertinent to mention that the overdraft facility (amounting to Rs 2.7 crore) was created by Varun Vashishta, Branch manager, ICICI Bank Vikas Puri Branch by forging signature of customer on overdraft account opening form. Further it was found that a total amount of Rs 2.68 crore siphoned off from the account."
The bank had urged via this letter to the police to register an FIR in this case. While the initial amount of fraud was estimated to be around Rs 2.68 crore, further investigation by the complainant bank revealed that the overall amount of fraud could be close to Rs 12 crore. This amount could go up further to around Rs 16 crore if the interest amount is also included. It is being alleged that the fraud started in 2019 and only recently came to light when the victim NRI customer of the bank complained about this embezzlement.
Where did the bank branch manager syphon off money from the customer's a/c to?
According to the complaint filed by the victim NRI customer dated January 29, 2024 addressed to Economic Offences Wing (EOW), 43 beneficiaries were identified till date who had received money at various times from the NRE bank account of the complainant without authorisation. She further alleged that cash to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore was withdrawn from her account over the years and about Rs 9.5 crore was transferred to the said 43 beneficiaries.
Why did such a scam go unnoticed for years?
The complainant's husband runs a hotel in Delhi and a point-of-sale machine (POS), and the current account of the said hotel were held at this branch of ICICI Bank. The complainant claimed that money was being deposited regularly in an NRE bank account held at the Vikaspuri branch of ICICI Bank since 2019.
The victim NRI customer revealed in the letter to the EOW that fixed deposit (FD) receipts were handed over by the ICICI Bank manager of Vikas Puri branch, with the stamp of ICICI Bank, and it was also emailed from the official Email ID of the bank branch manager. "We never visited the bank branch nor suspected the FDs to be fraudulent since the bank's branch manager used to visit us in our home and handover the FD receipts and also emailed the same receipts with the bank's seal from the bank's official email ID. These FD receipts and interest certificates were forged which we recently learned. I recently learned that my account was being managed by ICICI Bank Gurgaon branch whereas I was under the impression that my bank account was being managed by ICICI Bank Vikaspuri branch. No official from the ICICI Bank Gurgaon branch ever contacted me," said the complainant exclusively To ET Online when asked.
Bank says it's difficult for things to remain unnoticed for long
In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for ICICI Bank has said, "The Bank has consistently sent transaction details to her registered mobile number and email id since the accounts were opened a few years ago. It is bewildering that the customer claims to be unaware of these transactions and balances in her account over the past three years, and she only recently noticed a discrepancy in her account balance. This discrepancy ought to have been observed by the customer when filing Income Tax returns (ITR) as well."
ITR may not necessarily compel customer to check FD details
Customers don't need to check NRE FD details at the time of filing ITR because interest earned on NRE deposits are exempted from income tax. "Unlike a normal resident bank account fixed deposit (FDs) of where Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is deducted if interest on FD exceeds Rs 40,000 a year (in case of Senior Citizen limit is Rs 50,000). But in NRE bank accounts no TDS is deducted however much the amount of interest is. This is because it is exempt from income tax," says chartered accountant Mihir Tanna, associate director, S.K. Patodia LLP, a CA firm.
Branch manager changed mobile number and email address
The victim bank customer alleged that she received certain notifications/email alerts about cash withdrawals made in her bank account. However, when she confronted the ICICI Bank branch manager about these alerts, he dismissed these 'notification alerts' from ICICI Bank as fraudulent phishing emails and to not open them further. In the letter to EOW, the complainant said, "I used to immediately inform Mr. Varun Vashisht on phone and WhatsApp about such alerts. However, every time I informed Mr. Varun Vashishth about any such notification, he warned that these were 'fraud phishing' mails which many customers are getting and was asked not to click or open any such email."
Responding to these allegations, the spokesperson for ICICI Bank said, "She alleges that the mobile number and email ID of her account were changed without her knowledge. However, our records indicate that notifications regarding both changes were and WhatsApp about such alerts. However, every time I informed Mr. Varun Vashishth about any such notification, he warned that these were 'fraud phishing' mails which many customers are getting and was asked not to click or open any such email."
Responding to these allegations, the spokesperson for ICICI Bank said, "She alleges that the mobile number and email ID of her account were changed without her knowledge. However, our records indicate that notifications regarding both changes were sent to her original mobile number and email address which were registered with the Bank. Furthermore, the new number is listed on the website of a company owned by the customer herself."
What did ICICI Bank do after being informed about the scam?
The spokesperson for ICICI Bank said, "As an aggrieved party, we have lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of Delhi Police for a thorough investigation into the matter. We are extending full cooperation to the Police investigation. We have communicated to the customer that we are ready to transfer the disputed amount of Rs 9.27 crore (she has already encashed a fixed deposit of Rs 2 crore) to her account with a lien, pending the outcome of the investigation (by EOW)."
The case, which was first investigated by the Vikas Puri Police Station in Delhi, has now been transferred to the EOW. ET Online tried getting the initial views of the EOW officials investigating the matter, however, they did not want to comment on any ongoing investigation and hence, refrained from giving a statement about the case.
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