In a shocking financial fraud that has rocked Rajasthan’s Kota district, a 26-year-old ICICI Bank relationship manager has been arrested for embezzling ₹4.58 crore from customer accounts and losing it all in high-risk stock market trading.
The Accused and Her Methods
Sakshi Gupta, who worked at ICICI Bank’s Shriram Nagar branch in Kota’s DCM locality, exploited the ‘User FD’ feature to withdraw funds from 110 FDs belonging to 41 account holders between 2020 and 2023. To avoid detection, she allegedly replaced the customers’ registered mobile numbers with those of her own family members.
The investigating officer Ibrahim Khan revealed her sophisticated fraud system: “She linked the phone numbers of her family members to these accounts and withdrew more than Rs 4 crore. She even devised a system that she used to get the OTPs on her system so that the account holders don’t get a whiff of the fraud.”
Stock Market Gambling Gone Wrong
After siphoning the funds, Sakshi allegedly redirected customer money into high-risk derivative trading and stock market investments. The relationship manager had become a day trader by evening, gambling with customers’ life savings. Unfortunately for both her and the victims, all investments resulted in massive losses, leaving customers devastated.
The accused also misused four customers’ debit cards and internet banking facilities, while reportedly investing 40-50 lakh rupees of her father’s money in the stock market as well.
Timeline and Investigation
This elaborate fraud scheme operated undetected for three years, from 2020 to 2023. The scam came to light recently when customers began noticing discrepancies in their fixed deposit accounts. Police investigations revealed the systematic nature of the fraud and the sophisticated methods used to avoid detection.
Bank’s Response and Customer Protection
Following the arrest and investigation, ICICI Bank has reportedly begun the process of refunding the embezzled money to affected customers. This step demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer interests despite the internal security breach.
Lessons for Banking Security
This Kota bank fraud case highlights critical weaknesses in internal banking controls and the need for stronger oversight of employee access to customer accounts. The incident serves as a wake-up call for financial institutions to implement more robust monitoring systems for employee activities.
The case also emphasizes the dangers of unauthorized stock market trading using customer funds and the devastating consequences when gambling with other people’s money goes wrong. As investigations continue, this fraud has become a cautionary tale about trust, technology, and the importance of financial security measures in modern banking.