“Duped Of Rs 13.5 Crore”: Woman Alleges Massive Fraud By ICICI Bank Manager

New Delhi:

An Indian-origin woman – who returned to India in 2016 from the US- has alleged that she was duped of Rs 13.5 crore by a manager at the ICICI Bank by engaging in “fraudulent activities.”

The woman told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that she had transferred Rs 13.5 crore from her bank account in the US to the ICICI Bank, to have the invested in fixed deposits. She expected that the investment would grow to more than Rs 16 crore in the coming years.

Shveta Sharma, who shifted to India with her husband in 2016, says she met the accused bank manager through a friend.

The bank manager, the woman alleged, suggested she invest her savings in fixed deposits that offered an interest rate of 5.5% to 6% since the interest rate on bank deposits in the US was negligible.

“He gave me fake statements, created a fake email ID in my name and manipulated my mobile number in the bank records so I won’t get any withdrawal notifications,” Shveta Sharma told the BBC.

“Over a period of four years from September 2019 to December 2023, we deposited our entire life savings of around Rs 13.5 crore in the bank,” she said, adding that “with interest, the sum would have grown to more than Rs 16 crore.”

Ms Sharma said she discovered earlier this year in January that all her money had vanished after another official at the bank offered her better returns.

A ICICI Bank spokesperson told the BBC that the accused manager has been suspended “pending investigation.”

“We have also lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wingh (EOW) of the Delhi Police and we have to wait until the police investigation is complete. She will get all her money back, along with the interest, once her allegation is proven to be true. But unfortunately, she has to wait,” the spokesperson told the BBC.

He said it was “bewildering” that she remained “unaware of these transactions and balances in her account over the past three years.