Greater Noida: The alleged fraudulent transfer of more than ₹ 12 crore from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Greater Noida had been underway since 2023 and involved multiple bank accounts, including those of the victims, police said on Thursday, as the number of complaints continued to rise.
Sanchit Sharma, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Greater Noida, said people other than farmers had also lost money. “With the help of other investigative agencies, including the bank’s internal committee, efforts are underway to identify the persons involved. Vinod Kumar, station house officer of Beta 2 police station, said the number of complaints and the amount allegedly transferred fraudulently had increased substantially as more account holders learnt about the case. Another account holder, Sandeep, said ₹ 1.28 crore was missing from his account. A case under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to criminal breach of trust, was registered. Farmer Shrichand named 21 people in his complaint, putting the alleged embezzlement at more than ₹ 12.12 crore, according to the FIR registered at Surajpur police station on Wednesday.
The process of returning the money has started,” he said. “Many people contacted us on Thursday as well,” he said. He said officials were seeking affidavits detailing previous transactions to reconcile the allegedly fraudulent transfers. “There are close to 100 people whose money was transferred without consent,” he said.
“For instance, one FD was terminated and its money was transferred to another victim’s account before being withdrawn. Due to the large number of transactions, we are struggling to identify a specific source,” the officer said.
A senior police officer involved in the investigation, requesting anonymity, said the money was routed through multiple accounts, making it difficult to trace individual transactions.
