Maha firm reports over 60 cheques of ₹31-cr missing

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF), a government-owned firm's accounts team thwarted withdrawal attempts

- Vinay Dalvi

MUMBAI: The RCF police in Chembur have registered a case of theft following a complaint filed by public-sector undertaking (PSU) Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF), a government-owned firm and leading manufacturer of fertilisers and industrial chemicals.

The company reported the theft of 62 cheques with a cumulative withdrawal limit of ₹31 crore after detecting suspicious transactions.

According to RCF, its accounts department flagged certain suspicious cheque transactions. Upon investigation, it was discovered that 62 cheques had been stolen.

The fraud came to light when Mahesh Rana, an employee in RCF's cash department, noticed a cheque of ₹48.50 lakh deposited on December 23, 2024, at the Malwani branch of Kotak Mahindra Bank by an individual named Sameer Faiz Alam.

Finding the transaction suspicious, Rana immediately alerted the State Bank of India's Fort branch and senior officials, halting the payment. Further scrutiny of the cheque revealed irregularities, including the handwritten name of the payee, which deviated from RCF's standard practice of printed names.