ICIC Bank news: At an ICICI Bank branch, the branch manager and his team met their business targets over the years by secretly withdrawing funds from the accounts of unsuspecting customers. This cunning strategy was deployed to simulate the opening of new fixed deposits, along with current and savings accounts, creating a facade of robust business performance, Economic Times reported,

The illicit activities were discovered several years later, leading to blackmail attempts against the bank officials. In a desperate bid to silence the extortion, they escalated their fraudulent withdrawals, funnelling even more customer funds to pay off a blackmailer based in Udaipur.

Rajasthan Police have disclosed that a staggering sum of approximately Rs 2.5 crore has already been funnelled as silence money to the individual from Udaipur who threatened to expose the branch manager’s schemes.

Amit Kumar, the Superintendent of Police in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan, shed light on the initial findings, revealing that the branch manager and his cohorts resorted to these dishonest measures under the intense pressure of achieving business performance metrics. They engaged in a practice known as ‘Entry and Reverse Entry,’ creating overdrafts against fixed deposits and using these overdrafts to ostensibly open new banking products, which were then promptly closed, and the funds rerouted back to the original accounts. This dubious operation has been ongoing for years, the report said.

In response to these revelations, an ICICI Bank spokesperson assured that genuine customers would not suffer any financial loss from these actions, emphasising the bank’s zero-tolerance stance on fraud. The implicated employee has been suspended pending a thorough investigation, and the bank is cooperating fully with the police inquiry.

Despite the Rajasthan Police’s press release indicating an embezzled amount of Rs 2.5 crore, ICICI Bank officials have corrected the figure to Rs 2 crore.

The investigation into this scam, which had been running over an extended period, is being spearheaded by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed under ASP Bhagchand Meena’s direction. This team, including cyber and financial forensic experts, has conducted an exhaustive interrogation of the accused branch manager, scrutinised the unauthorised financial activities, and engaged with affected account holders to uncover the truth.

The police have managed to freeze 62 bank accounts linked to the scam, seizing over Rs 62 lakh in funds, Rs 46 lakh in cash, and gold assets related to a gold loan taken by the blackmailer. This individual, already notorious for various criminal activities, allegedly used part of the embezzled funds to finance a luxurious farmhouse purchase, which has since been seized by the authorities.

The scam only came to light due to the vigilance of a bank employee who noticed a significant discrepancy in a friend’s account, leading to a cascade of revelations and the eventual exposure of this extensive fraud.

Upon learning of the scam, ICICI Bank swiftly informed the Rajasthan police through a letter penned by Manoj Bhowrani, the regional head, detailing the fraudulent activities and urging a comprehensive investigation to bring the culprits to justice.

Source : https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/news/rajasthan-police-crack-down-on-icici-bank-fraud-rs-2-5-crore-paid-in-hush-money/ar-BB1igmsI?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=2ec9b56d0e9a4737b4b1f63f2af5d829&ei=47