KOTA: An ICICI Bank relationship manager in Rajasthan’s Kota, Sakshi Gupta, has been arrested for allegedly siphoning off Rs 4.6 crore from 110 accounts of 41 customers from 2020 to 2023 for unauthorised stock market investments that turned into duds, reports Rajiv Saxena.Police said Sakshi concealed the unlawful cash pullouts by replacing registered mobile numbers in several accounts with those belonging to her relatives, ensuring that transaction alerts and OTPs were diverted from actual customers.In one instance, Sakshi used an elderly woman’s account – without her knowledge – as a “pool account”, shuffling over Rs 3 crore through it by Feb 15, 2023. Much of the unauthorised proceeds were transferred to demat accounts as part of an attempted cover-up for wagering on stock deals.ICICI Bank has suspended Sakshi, who was attached to its DCM branch in Kota, after her arrest last week. But Kota police are probing if others were involved and requested documents from the bank. Investigations revealed that Gupta also allegedly misused debit cards, PINs, and OTPs for her unauthorised transactions, and even activated overdraft facilities in 40 accounts without the customers’ consent. She closed fixed deposits of 31 customers and redirected Rs 1.34 crore into unauthorised accounts, police said., adding a fraudulent personal loan of Rs 3.4 lakh was also disbursed.The bank has reassured customers, saying it has reported the fraud to authorities.
