Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Nov 15: The relationship manager of a private bank has gone missing after allegedly diverting over Rs 2.7 crore belonging to a long-time customer.
Police are trying to trace Nakka Kishore Kumar, a resident of R T Nagar, who reportedly defrauded a customer of Standard Chartered Bank’s M G Road branch between May 12 and November 6.
The fraud came to light after Patricia Prabhu, a customer of the bank since 2014, handed over three cheques — Rs 2 crore, Rs 50 lac and Rs 25 lac — to Kumar for creating fixed deposits. She gave the Rs 2-crore cheque on May 12 and the remaining two on October 31. While collecting the cheques, Kumar obtained Patricia’s signatures on RTGS forms by falsely claiming they were required for FDs.
Instead of depositing the cheques into Patricia’s FD accounts, the relationship manager transferred the funds to accounts belonging to a relative and a friend through RTGS, thereby swindling the money.
During an internal enquiry, the bank found that, using the RTGS forms signed by Patricia, Kumar transferred Rs 2 crore to an account in the name of Kruti Jai Mitra on May 12 and Rs 50 lac on October 31. The last Rs 25 lac was routed to an account in the name of Jeetika Upasana. Both accounts are held with another private bank.
A police officer said Kumar deceived Patricia by taking her signatures on RTGS forms. The transactions are prima facie legal, the officer noted, but remain fraudulent as the customer did not authorise or initiate RTGS transfers to other accounts.
“We have asked the complainant to provide more details about the transactions and account details of the women who received the money. When Kumar learnt about the bank’s internal enquiry, he went missing,” the officer added.
A case has been registered under BNS Section 318 (cheating) at Ulsoor police station on November 10.