Yes Bank staff accused of Rs 66 lakh fraud

MUMBAI: A Gandhinagar court recently passed an order in a case of alleged forgery against an employee of Yes Bank who worked as a relationship manager in the bank's wealth management division. The court has ordered further investigation against the employee, Shruti Panchal, who allegedly forged the signature of one of its clients, prepared a duplicate company seal, changed bank mandates with forged signatures and the seal, and redeemed money invested in mutual funds worth about Rs 66 lakh, leading to a loss of about Rs 34 lakh to the client.

The court has also ordered investigation on other unnamed bank officers since it appeared that the fraud was committed by Panchal with help from other people. The court's contention was that since people keep their money in banks, such cases can lead to loss of client confidence.



The case relates to Gandhinagar-based MGD Electronics, whose MD, Rajesh Rathi, was approached by Panchal and her superior in 2007 to invest in mutual funds through the bank's wealth management services. The company invested a total of Rs 1 crore in four funds in December 2007.

MGD Electronics moved court after police refused to register a case. The court subsequently directed police to investigate the matter. MGD Electronics has also filed a complaint in consumer court against Yes Bank. The next hearing for the case is on January 19.