Balrampur: A massive financial fraud involving unauthorized transactions amounting to Rs 5.25 crore has come to light at the Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Nahar Balaganj branch, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh.
Based on a formal complaint lodged by Puneet Mutreja, chief manager of the PNB Ayodhya division, a case has been registered against seven named individuals, including senior bank officials, and several unidentified persons for alleged embezzlement and criminal conspiracy.
According to the complaint, a probe revealed that the bank officials, in collusion with external entities, issued loans in the form of demand loans and overdrafts without approval from competent authorities and based on forged documents. Instead of crediting the funds to genuine account holders, the money was transferred directly to private accounts.
The accused were identified as Mahesh Tripathi, Senior Branch Manager, resident of Hind Nagar, Kanpur Road, Lucknow, Santosh Gupta, a female bank officer from Civil Lines, Kanpur, Yashwant Kumar, Cashier, resident of Rasoolpur Hameedpur, Mau, Poonam Singh, partner at PSP Construction, resident of Jankinagar, Gonda, her husband Samarjeet Singh, son Vaibhav Singh, and Vinay Kumar Sharma, bank official, resident of Bara Pul Tedhi Bazar, Balrampur.
A case has been filed under serious charges including misappropriation of bank funds and criminal conspiracy.
Inspector Sudhir Singh, in-charge of Nagar Kotwali, confirmed that a case has been registered against the accused individuals. Investigations are underway, and coordination with police departments of the respective districts of the accused is being carried out.
Authorities have stated that further action will be taken following the ongoing investigation.