Banker who stole ₹16 crore used branch office acct to transfer funds

Case came to light when heir of a deceased senior inquired about his father's closed accts

- Ashish Singh

In the Rs16.10 crore siphoning of funds and gold by now suspended Bank of India officer (Turner Road branch) Hitesh Kumar Singla, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that the theft was orchestrated over a period of two years, targeting senior citizens, minors, deceased customers and dormant accounts.

Now arrested and in the ED’s custody till September 23, Singla allegedly began by scanning the bank's records to identify accounts unlikely to attract scrutiny. Once he identified his targets, Singla allegedly began closing deposits and savings instruments without obtaining authorisation from the account holders. Fixed deposits, senior citizen savings schemes, Public Provident Fund accounts, as well as savings and current accounts, were all terminated in a phased manner.