Hyderabad bank staff siphon Rs 6.5 crore from Australia-based OCI's account

Axis Bank officials in Hyderabad are accused of stealing Rs 6.5 crore from the account of an Indian-origin man living in Australia. The officials allegedly forged signatures and used loose-leaf cheques to siphon off the money over two years. The victim reported the crime but claims the bank took no action.

Representative image HYDERABAD: Axis Bank officials from Begumpet branch in Hyderabad are accused of allegedly siphoning off Rs 6.5 crore from account of a man of Indian origin living in New South Wales, Australia. Police said the cash was allegedly siphoned off over past two years from the premium account of Paritosh Upadhyay, an overseas citizen of India (OCI).

The accused include former branch head Sridevi Raghu, senior partner Venkataramana Pasarla, service partner Surekha Saini, senior vice-president Hari Vijay and others. They have been charged with cheating by impersonation , cheating by fraudulent means, criminal breach of trust by a banker, forgery and forgery by electronic means. Upadhyay said bank officials forged his signatures to siphon off the cash and said he waited for two years for a solution after reporting the crime to the bank management, but there was no action.

The accused used the loose-leaf cheques to withdraw amounts from his account and also transferred the money without any written instructions. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .

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