Punjab National Bank Greater Noida branch customers allege ₹12 crore fraud, all employees suspended

The number of complainants rose to 25, with police registering a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and an anti-corruption team joining the investigation.

All employees of Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) Accher branch in Greater Noida have been suspended after a group of farmers alleged that more than ₹12 crore was fraudulently transferred from their savings accounts and fixed deposits (FDs), police said on Wednesday.

PNB said the amount had been put on hold by its Delhi head office and would be returned. (Reuters file photo)

The complainants alleged that bank employees transferred money from their accounts without their consent. The alleged fraud came to light when account holders approached the branch to withdraw their money.

Ram Vinod Kumar, lead bank manager for Gautam Budh Nagar district, said the transferred amount had been put on hold by PNB’s head office in Delhi and would be returned.

“All staff members, including the branch manager at Accher, have been suspended. The Central Bureau of Investigation has been brought in to probe the fraudulent activity. PNB is also conducting an internal probe,” Kumar said.

Amarpal, a resident of Accher, said he had opened three FDs worth ₹40 lakh, ₹30 lakh and ₹10 lakh in his mother Sunita Devi’s name. He had also deposited around ₹12 lakh in her savings account after receiving compensation for land acquired for the Noida International Airport project.

“After the ₹10 lakh FD matured, I visited the bank on October 22 but was told to return on October 27. Later, I was told that there was no money in my FD,” he said.

Amarpal alleged that the bank statement showed the FDs had been prematurely closed on June 16 and the money transferred. Another ₹10 lakh, he claimed, had also been transferred from his mother’s savings account.

Another account holder, Sandeep, son of Ranpal and a resident of Biroda village in Greater Noida’s Beta 2 sector, said ₹1.28 crore received as land compensation had been deposited in his family’s bank account. “On Tuesday, when my brother went to withdraw ₹50,000, he was informed only ₹15,000 were left,” he said.

The number of complainants had risen to 25 by Wednesday, according to local police.

“We have registered a case under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), related to criminal breach of trust by a public servant or banker. An anti-corruption team from the state is also probing the matter,” said Sanchit Sharma, assistant commissioner of police, Greater Noida.