Kota Bank Official Arrested For Stealing Rs 4.58 Crore From FDs To Invest In Stocks
According to the probe, Sakshi Gupta illegally withdrew money from 110 accounts of 41 customers. She incurred heavy losses in the stock market and failed to deposit the money back in the accounts.
Fixed deposits have long been seen as one of the safest options for investors. The idea was shattered for residents of Rajasthan’s Kota after it came to light that a woman officer of a private bank illegally withdrew Rs 4.58 crore from 110 accounts belonging to 41 customers to invest the funds in the stock market.
As reported by NDTV, Sakshi Gupta, a relationship manager at ICICI Bank, misused the 'User FD’ link between 2020 and 2023 to siphon off the money. For over two years, no one at the bank was aware of what she had done.
What Happened In The Case
According to the probe, Gupta used the money to invest in the stock market. Lured by the prospect of high returns, she even changed the phone numbers of the customers linked with the accounts so that they would remain unaware of the transactions.
"She linked the phone numbers of her family members to these accounts to withdraw the money. She even devised a mechanism that she used to get the OTPs on her system so that the account holders don't get a whiff of the fraud," investigating officer Ibrahim Khan told NDTV.
Gupta incurred heavy losses in the stock market and failed to deposit the money back in the accounts.
The matter came to light when a customer visited the bank in February to enquire about the FD. The bank reported the scam to the police on Feb. 18. Gupta was arrested during her sister’s wedding on June 4. She has been sent to judicial custody.
ICICI Bank’s Response
"The interest of our customers are of paramount importance to us. Immediately upon discovering the fraudulent activity, we filed an FIR with the police. We have a zero-tolerance policy against any fraudulent activity and thus suspended the employee involved. We would like to reassure that genuine claims of impacted customers have been settled," an ICICI Bank spokesperson told NDTV Profit.
Tips To Prevent Bank Fraud
Financial scams have made headlines time and again over the recent years. While there is no single, foolproof measure to prevent scams, following certain basic measures can help your money remain secure.
Using multi-factor authentication for online banking, regularly monitoring financial statements and conducting thorough research on investment instruments before putting the money, one can protect financial information from misuse. Avoid sharing your personal and sensitive information, such as Aadhaar, OTP and password, with unknown persons or apps. Another measure is to regularly update the security software on mobile phones to stay protected against viruses and other malware.
By taking some of these simple steps, one can avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
