Bank staff booked for siphoning off lakhs from beneficiaries’ accounts

Eleven employees of two branches of the district cooperative bank in Rampur were booked for allegedly siphoning off Rs 19 lakh from the accounts of various beneficiaries of social welfare schemes initiated by the government.

The bank management ordered a probe in all 29 branches in Rampur and suspended 13 employees following an internal investigation over the last fortnight. More FIRS could be lodged in the case as the internal inquiry progresses, said officials.

“We have ordered an internal probe headed by branch managers in every branch to identify employees involved in the fraud.

The management will take further action against employees found guilty of fraud,” said Harendra Kumar, assistant registrar, cooperatives, on Monday.

The accused employees also committed fraud by issuing loans in the name of people who died in the second wave of Covid, he added.

In July, it was found that officials and staff of at least two branches of the cooperative bank were involved in siphoning off money of beneficiaries. Subsequently, FIRS were lodged against bank officials at Ganj and Patwai police stations of Rampur.

According to the police, the FIRS were lodged on the complaint of Sanjay Gupta, deputy general manager (finance and accounts ) of the cooperative bank.

As many as 11 bank employees were accused of siphoning off around Rs 19 lakh from the accounts of beneficiaries.

According to the Rampur police, the cases were under investigation. After the FIRS, five accused employees of the bank branch in Patwai returned Rs 12.5 lakh to the bank.

Sansar Singh, ASP (Rampur), said: “The police have recorded the statements of the accused and are in the process of examining transactions details.”