Delhi Woman Alleges Rs 16 Crore-Fraud, EOW Files FIR

The Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing has registered an FIR in connection with the alleged siphoning of Rs 16 crore from a woman customer by an ICICI Bank official, an officer said on Tuesday.

The matter came to the fore when the woman filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) a week ago, following which an FIR was registered, he said.

ICICI Bank in a statement, however, said it is ready to transfer the disputed amount of Rs 9.27 crore to the woman's account with a lien, pending the outcome of the investigation.

A senior EOW officer said the woman, who returned from abroad in 2016, alleged that she was cheated on the pretext of a fixed deposit (FD) scheme by a bank official.

She told the police that she had deposited Rs 13.50 crore for four years from 2019 to 2023 and expected it to grow it to Rs 16.00 crore with interest.

However, when she checked her account, she found that all the FDs had vanished.

Special Commissioner of Police (EOW) SS Yadav, while confirming the FIR, said teams have been formed to probe the alleged fraud.

Another officer said the woman told the police that the she never anticipated fraud as she received receipts of her deposits from the bank manager. She also claimed that her mobile phone number was manipulated so that she did not receive notifications about withdrawals.

The teams will check all the records and details of all transactions and question those suspected to be involved in the alleged fraud, the officer said.

Sources said this is the second such fraud case to come to the police's attention after a similar cheating incident was reported in Mumbai.

The ICICI Bank said statement, "Our customers are our utmost priority and we are wholeheartedly dedicated to safeguarding their interests. In this case too, we will ensure that the customer's financial interests are protected. In fact, we have communicated to the customer that we are ready to transfer the disputed amount of Rs 9.27 crore (she has already encashed a fixed deposit of Rs 2.00 crore) to her account with a lien, pending the outcome of the investigation." 

"The bank has consistently sent transaction details to her registered mobile number and email id since the accounts were opened a few years ago. It is bewildering that the customer claims to be unaware of these transactions and balances in her account over the past three years and she only recently noticed a discrepancy in her account balance. This discrepancy ought to have been observed by the customer when filing Income Tax returns as well," it said.

The bank said the woman alleged that the mobile number and email ID linked to her account were changed without her knowledge.

"However, our records indicate that notifications regarding both changes were sent to her original mobile number and email address, which were registered with the bank. Furthermore, the new number is listed on the website of a company owned by the customer herself," it said in the statement.

"Further, as an aggrieved party, we have lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police for a thorough investigation into the matter, which appears to be much more than meets the eye. We are extending full co-operation to the police investigation," it added.