₹35 crore missing from PNB bank accounts in Noida:Five employees suspended, FIR registered; customers say their accounts show zero balance

A case of digital robbery has come to light at a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Aichhar village, Greater Noida. Irregularities have been found in account holders’ funds totalling around ₹35 crore. The account holders alleged that bank employees prematurely closed their fixed deposits (FDs) and transferred the money to other accounts. More than 16 people have complained that money has gone missing from their accounts, their balances are showing as zero and their FDs have been closed. After the matter came to light, PNB’s regional office in Sector 1, Noida, suspended five employees, including the bank manager. New staff have been deployed in their place. People associated with the bank assured the account holders that their money would be returned to their accounts by Thursday. An investigation is under way into the employees responsible for the negligence and irregularities. Beta-2 police station has begun investigating the matter based on the complaints. The Anti-Corruption team is also investigating the case. Allegation of transferring money to another account in the name of investing in a mutual fund Transporter Vineet Bhati, a resident of Aichhar village, submitted a written complaint at the Beta-2 police station on Tuesday, seeking an investigation into bank employees and the return of ₹25 lakh. Vineet Bhati runs a firm called Jai Shiv Transport and has a current account with the bank. He said he had contacted bank employees to invest in a mutual fund. At the branch manager’s direction, he signed a cheque and the relevant brochure. Instead of transferring the money to my savings account, it was sent to another account. The account was said to be in Vineet Bhati’s name, but it was not his own account. More than ₹1 crore missing from ₹1.29 crore received as compensation Brijesh said his mother’s land had been acquired for the Noida airport. In compensation, around ₹1 crore 29 lakh had been credited to her account. The family had withdrawn only ₹15 lakh from it. Now, more than ₹1 crore is missing from the account. They demanded KYC in the name of withdrawing money Elderly Dharmveer said, “I have ₹17.5 lakh. The bank has not allowed me to make any entry for two years. I was subjected to a major fraud. Sometimes they would close the account, sometimes they would claim that the PAN card was defective, and sometimes they would ask for Aadhaar card KYC.” I came to the bank yesterday. There was ₹17.5 lakh in my account. The manager showed me that there was nothing in the account. My grandmother has an account with ₹61 lakh in it; I don’t know whether that money will still be there. I also have an FD of ₹2.25 lakh, and I don’t know whether that will be there either. Bank account emptied, what should we do now? Santosh, an elderly woman sitting outside the bank with her sister, said, “₹1 crore 29 lakh was credited to my account. The same amount was credited to hers as well. We are sisters.” “We withdrew some of it, and the rest was left in the accounts. Now the entire ₹1 crore 18 lakh is gone… the balance is showing zero. The bank officials are not telling us anything. They are not saying anything. When we ask them, they say, ‘We have only recently joined.'” My children are living in rented accommodation, and my house is under construction. I have nowhere else to go and no financial leeway. My daughter remained in hospital. Her father received ₹32 lakh as his retirement payout. It was spent on her treatment. That money also ran out. We were left without a single penny. Then my mother-in-law died a month later, unable to bear the shock of her daughter’s death. We were completely ruined. Now our bank accounts are empty too. Where will we live and what will we eat? Bank official told us, “We will lose our jobs; do not come here again” Saroj said, “We had received ₹1 crore 29 lakh as compensation. Of that, we withdrew ₹10 lakh in cash and had ₹20 lakh transferred. When we asked to withdraw more from the bank, the madam said there would not be that much available and told us to get it done later.” “When we came later, she again said that if we needed a large amount, we should inform her two days in advance and she would give it to us then. We then had ₹20 lakh transferred into one account. When we went again a few days later, the madam said, ‘Brother, do not come again now; I will lose my job. A CBI investigation is under way, and a large amount of public money has come in. Now ₹76 lakh will be ours.'” 16 people complain, five employees suspended Police said that 16 people had so far lodged complaints related to the bank. Five employees, including the bank manager, have been suspended in the case. Those associated with the bank assured account holders that their money would be returned. Meanwhile, the investigation into the alleged irregularities and negligence is under way. The police and the Anti-Corruption team are examining different aspects of the case. The bank has not yet issued detailed official information about the matter.