Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday assured customers that all genuine claims would be honoured, saying it had settled three claims worth Rs 43 lakh in connection with alleged financial irregularities involving savings accounts and fixed deposits at its Greater Noida branch.
The bank said it was examining the complaints on priority and verifying the facts to determine the extent of the reported discrepancies.
“Three claims amounting to Rs 43 lakh had been settled as of yesterday. The bank assures its customers that all genuine claims will be honoured,” PNB said in a statement.
The bank added that it was extending full cooperation to the authorities concerned and taking necessary steps to address the grievances of affected customers.
Reiterating its zero-tolerance policy towards fraud, financial irregularities and misconduct, PNB said strict action would be taken against those found responsible, in accordance with applicable rules and procedures. It also said it was strengthening internal controls and monitoring mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
The development follows allegations by nearly two dozen account holders that more than Rs 11.24 crore had been misappropriated from their savings accounts and fixed deposits at the branch.
An FIR has been registered against unidentified bank employees under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with criminal breach of trust, following a complaint filed by customer Shrichand and other account holders.
According to the complaint, the alleged losses reported by 21 individuals exceed Rs 11.24 crore, with two account holders claiming losses of more than Rs 1 crore each.
Separately, local account holders have estimated the total alleged fraud at around Rs 35 crore, claiming that savings accounts, fixed deposits and mutual fund investments were affected.
Shrichand, a resident of Surajpur in Greater Noida, alleged that bank employees had misappropriated ₹1.16 crore from his fixed deposit.
Other account holders named in the complaint include Kartari, Amichand, Vijay Pal, Santosh, Saroj, Bijendra Singh, Ranpal, Dharm Singh, Haneep Khan, Sonu, Jagdish, Sunita, Akash Bhati, Atender, Chatar Singh, Vinit Bhati, Sanjay, Basanti and Gajendra.
Bijendra Singh, another account holder, told reporters that his savings account, which had held Rs 87–88 lakh, now showed a balance of just Rs 1 lakh. He said the funds included compensation he had received from an authority as a farmer.
Haneep Khan alleged that nearly Rs 39 lakh had disappeared from his account without authorisation. Another account holder, Zakir, claimed that Rs 9.5 lakh was missing from his account and that he had not received any text message alerting him to a transaction.
Gautam Buddh Nagar Lead District Manager Ram Vinod Kumar told PTI that action was being taken and the account holders’ grievances were being examined.
Police said the bank management had assured customers that their complaints would be addressed. Several employees, including the branch manager, have been suspended, and further legal action is underway.
The alleged irregularities came to light on Wednesday after account holders complained that funds had disappeared from their accounts without authorisation and that they had received no alerts about the transactions.
(with inputs from PTI)