Bank employee held for embezzling over R2 cr; five colleagues absconding

The MIDC police have arrested an employee of a private limited bank for allegedly embezzling more than R2.05 crore through fraudulent transactions. Meanwhile, several other bank employees suspected of involvement in the scam are absconding, and a search operation is underway to track them down.

According to police sources, the arrested bank employee has been identified as Sagar Mohan Mishra, who worked as a UPI reconciliation officer at the bank’s branch in Andheri. Mishra was apprehended by the MIDC police team in Andheri on Saturday and was produced before the Bandra Holiday Court on Sunday for remand.

Five other bank employees have been identified as key players in the fraud: Rishabh Yadav and Ajay Yadav, who were involved with UPI reconciliation—which deals with verifying and matching UPI transaction data from various sources— Shyamsundar Chauhan from the bank’s partner acquiring unit and Siddhesh Patnaik and Vikky Shinde from the UPI dispute unit.

The bank had five major accounts, and at least fifteen employees, including the five accused, were authorised to access these accounts. These employees were responsible for transferring funds as per operational requirements.

“Between April 3, 2023, and November 4, 2024, the accused allegedly colluded to fraudulently transfer R2.05 crore from certain bank accounts into third-party accounts without authorisation.

When discrepancies were detected, an internal inquiry was conducted, which exposed the involvement of the accused. The bank then lodged an FIR at MIDC police station in January,” said an officer.

Investigators revealed that Patnaik, the alleged mastermind used the login credentials of Shinde to transfer funds from the bank’s accounts into the personal accounts of five other bank employees and their relatives.

“Once the money was transferred, Patnaik and his accomplices withdrew the cash and distributed it among themselves. Ajay Yadav received R7.17 lakh, Rishabh Yadav R7.36 lakh and Chauhan R1.77 lakh,” an officer said.

The arrested accused, Mishra, allegedly demanded R29 lakh from Patnaik in exchange for keeping silent about the fraudulent activities.

According to the police, to conceal the trail of fraudulent transactions, Mishra helped Patnaik create a “cell” of bank accounts using the identities of his close friends and relatives. Patnaik then transferred the money into these accounts, making it difficult to trace.

Probe underway

“We are intensifying efforts to track down Patnaik and other absconding accused. Further investigations are on to identify additional beneficiaries and accomplices involved in the fraud,” said another police officer.