Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. said on Wednesday it is cooperating with authorities in Haryana's Panchkula after a reported mismatch of over Rs 150 crore in the bank records of the municipal corporation.
Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, who heads the Vigilance Department, has sent a letter to the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to initiate a case and begin further investigation, The Tribune newspaper reported.
The civic body had deposited the amount at the private sector lender's Sector 11 branch. Recently, when officials approached the bank about the maturity of a fixed deposit worth Rs 58 crore, they were told it did not exist. Upon checking all accounts, it was found that the discrepancies exceeded over Rs 150 crore, the newspaper reported, citing sources. Collusion between corporation officials and bank employees could not be ruled out, they added.
A Kotak Mahindra Bank spokesperson said the lender initiated a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the Municipal Corporation after it was approached by civic officials.
"As part of this exercise, the Bank has confirmed, based on records examined so far, that all account opening processes, KYC documentation, authorised signatories and instructions received from the Municipal Corporation were in order, and that the accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms. A significant portion of the amounts under review has already been reconciled with the Municipal Corporation, and the reconciliation process is continuing in an orderly manner," a spokesperson said.
The bank has filed a formal complaint with the Panchkula Police for independent and comprehensive look at the case.
"The Bank is cooperating fully with the Municipal Corporation, government authorities and law enforcement agencies in this process," the spokesperson said.
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