CBI books BoI officer for siphoning off ₹1.17 cr from dormant accounts

CBI officers said the accused diverted the money to her own bank account, as well as those of her husband and other relatives.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked an employee of the Bank of India’s (BoI) Thane branch for allegedly misappropriating ₹1.17 crore from customer accounts, including fraudulently activated dormant accounts, by using forged documents.

Bank of india BOI , bank for stock , 15/08/2014 ; photo:pradeep gaur/mint

CBI officers said the accused diverted the money to her own bank account, as well as those of her husband and other relatives.

According to BoI’s complaint, the accused worked at its Thane branch from April 2022 to May 9 this year, while the embezzlement took place from September 11, 2024. The state-owned bank detected the fraud on May 5 this year during an internal audit and transaction scrutiny exercise, which led to the accused’s suspension on May 9, the complaint added.

The CBI booked the suspended officer for criminal breach of trust and misconduct by a public servant under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

CBI officers said that the accused fraudulently activated dormant customer accounts using forged Know Your Customer (KYC) forms and transferred the amounts from these accounts to her own account and those of her husband and other relatives via digital transactions.

The officer added that the bank’s preliminary investigation found that the forged signatures and handwriting on the forged documents matched those of the accused. The bank claimed that the accused had admitted in writing that she had manipulated customer data and misappropriated funds to accounts held by herself and her family members.

The CBI had booked another BoI officer in August in a similar case for allegedly misappropriating ₹16.1 crore from 127 customer accounts between May 2023 and July 2025. The Enforcement Directorate arrested the officer last month in a related money-laundering case based on the CBI’s FIR.