How did ICICI employee use elderly woman’s account to ‘pool’ & steal ₹4.58 crore from FDs?
In a shocking case of financial fraud, an ICICI bank employee has been suspended after she was found to have stolen ₹4.58 crore from fixed deposit (FD) accounts and used the funds to invest in stocks. The employee, Sakshi Gupta, linked her family members’ phone numbers to the customer accounts she targeted, and then devised a system to obtain one-time passwords (OTPs) to transfer the stolen funds to an elderly woman’s account, which she used as a “pool account”.
According to a report by NDTV, Gupta, a customer service representative at ICICI Bank’s branch in Gurgaon, Haryana, stole the funds between 2019 and 2020. She used the stolen money to invest in the stock market, and her ill-gotten gains were substantial. The fraud was only discovered when the bank’s internal audit team detected unusual transactions in the elderly woman’s account.
It is alleged that Gupta linked her family members’ phone numbers to the customer accounts she targeted, allowing her to receive OTPs on her system. She would then use these OTPs to transfer funds from the FD accounts to the elderly woman’s account, which she had activated as a “pool account”. This allowed her to pool the stolen funds into a single account, making it easier to disguise her tracks.
Gupta’s fraud didn’t stop at transferring funds to the elderly woman’s account. She also illegally activated overdraft facilities on 40 accounts, allowing her to access even more funds. The stolen money was then invested in the stock market, further complicating the investigation.
The ICICI Bank has confirmed that Gupta has been suspended and an investigation is underway. The bank has also reported the matter to the police and is cooperating with the authorities to ensure that Gupta is brought to justice.
This is not the first time that an ICICI employee has been accused of fraud. In 2018, a similar case was reported where an ICICI employee was arrested for stealing ₹2.25 crore from a customer’s account.
The ICICI Bank has a reputation for being one of the most reputable and customer-centric banks in India. However, incidents like this one highlight the need for banks to implement robust internal controls and monitoring mechanisms to prevent such frauds from occurring.
The elderly woman whose account was used as a “pool account” has reportedly lost ₹4.58 crore as a result of Gupta’s fraud. The loss is not only financial, but also emotional, as she has been left feeling betrayed and vulnerable.
The case has also raised questions about the bank’s internal controls and the adequacy of its audit procedures. How could an employee be able to steal such large sums of money without being detected? What measures did the bank take to prevent such frauds from occurring?
The ICICI Bank has promised to cooperate fully with the investigation and to take appropriate action against Gupta. However, the incident has also raised concerns about the bank’s ability to protect its customers’ funds.
In conclusion, the case of Sakshi Gupta is a stark reminder of the importance of internal controls and monitoring mechanisms in preventing fraud. Banks must take steps to ensure that their employees are honest and trustworthy, and that their systems and processes are robust and secure.
