Accountant siphons off ₹1.72cr from company’s account, held

MUMBAI: The Sewri police have arrested a 42-year-old accountant of a customs clearing agency for allegedly siphoning off ₹1.72 crore from the firm’s bank account over the course of six years.

The accused used the money to buy plots and flats in Indore and Ahmedabad, police said.

The accused, identified as Dinesh Pralhad Pandya, a Badlapur (East) resident, had been on the run for three months, police sources said.

According to police, the complainant company, which has an office in Sewri, filed a complaint in November 2018 claiming the accused had transferred funds from the firm’s account to his personal accounts. An internal audit revealed that ₹1.72 crore was siphoned off from the company’s accounts between 2012 and 2018.

In December 2018, police had lodged a first information report (FIR) against Pandya under sections 420 (cheating) and 408 (criminal breach of trust by an servant) of Indian Penal Code. Pandya had stopped coming to office after he got to know about the police complaint filed against him.

When police visited Pandya’s house in Badlapur, he had already escaped. When his bank account was checked, it contained only ₹1.98 lakh, which was subsequently frozen.

Upon interrogation, Pandya revealed he had bought plots and flats in Indore and Ahmedabad using the fraudulently obtained money, police said. He had also diverted some funds to his wife’s bank account, they said. She has been summoned to the police station for questioning.