Nation / Thu, 29 Oct 2026 Firstpost

Inside the PNB fraud in Greater Noida: How Rs 35 crore ‘vanished’ from savings accounts and fixed deposits

Nearly Rs 35 crore is alleged to have gone missing from savings accounts and fixed deposits at Punjab National Bank’s Sector Pi-1 branch in Greater Noida. Nearly Rs 35 crore is alleged to have gone missing from savings accounts and fixed deposits at a Punjab National Bank branch in Greater Noida, leaving customers struggling to understand how their money disappeared. Haneef Khan, one of the affected customers, told PTI, “My savings account had Rs 39 lakh, but now nothing is showing in it. We demanded answers and protested outside the bank branch. The bank’s chief manager, Rakesh Nigam, told customers, “We cannot say exactly when this started.

Nearly Rs 35 crore is alleged to have gone missing from savings accounts and fixed deposits at Punjab National Bank’s Sector Pi-1 branch in Greater Noida. Customers claim the money was transferred without their consent, and they received no transaction alerts. Police have registered an FIR, and five employees, including the branch manager, have been suspended

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Nearly Rs 35 crore is alleged to have gone missing from savings accounts and fixed deposits at a Punjab National Bank branch in Greater Noida, leaving customers struggling to understand how their money disappeared.

Police have registered an FIR, and five employees, including the branch manager, have been suspended, and an investigation is underway.

The alleged irregularities came to light at the bank’s Sector Pi-1 branch in Greater Noida, where customers reported sharp drops in their account balances and claimed that fixed deposits had been closed without their consent.

According to PTI reports, account holders estimate that the losses could amount to around Rs 35 crore. The figure has not been officially confirmed by the bank or the police.

The complaints have prompted an investigation into suspected unauthorised transactions and the possible involvement of bank employees. Customers have also questioned why they did not receive transaction alerts or discover the alleged discrepancies sooner.

How customers discovered their money was missing

Several customers said they learnt about the alleged losses only when they visited the bank to withdraw money, renew fixed deposits or check their account balances.

Haneef Khan, one of the affected customers, told PTI, “My savings account had Rs 39 lakh, but now nothing is showing in it. I neither received any message nor signed any document authorising the transfer of funds.”

Another account holder, Zakir, alleged that Rs 9.5 lakh had disappeared from his account. He said he had received no text message about the transactions and discovered the problem when he visited the branch, NDTV reported on October 29.

Farmers who had deposited compensation received for land acquired for the Jewar Airport project are among those reporting substantial losses.

Vijendra Singh, a farmer, told reporters that his savings account, which had around Rs 87 to 88 lakh, showed a balance of just Rs 1 lakh. He had received compensation for his land from the authorities.

Santosh, a 60-year-old woman who runs a tea and samosa cart in a Greater Noida village. She had deposited Rs 1.29 crore in her PNB account as compensation for land acquired for the airport project. She alleged that Rs 1.18 crore was missing.

The Indian Express reported that Santosh said her son had visited the bank to withdraw money when he was informed that nothing remained in the account. Recalling the moment, she said, “On Tuesday, my son had come to withdraw some money when he was told that there was nothing left.”

Customers who allegedly lost money from their accounts gathered outside the PNB branch in Greater Noida, demanding action against those responsible and the return of their money. Photo courtesy: @Murti_Nain/X

Fixed deposits allegedly closed without consent

The complaints concern both savings accounts and fixed deposits, with customers alleging that funds were transferred or deposits withdrawn before maturity without their knowledge.

The Print reported that Srichand, a 78-year-old resident of Biraundi village, had deposited Rs 1.16 crore in a fixed deposit at the branch the previous year. He visited the bank on Tuesday to renew the deposit but discovered that the money was no longer there.

“There was nothing. I could not believe the bank employees. I thought they had made an error. I asked them to check again, and again, but they told me there was no money,” Srichand told The Print.

After speaking to other villagers, he learnt that several customers had allegedly faced similar problems. Many had invested compensation received for land acquired for the Jewar Airport project.

Srichand said that the affected villagers had lost money they had saved over many years. He said, “There, I found out, there are a dozen other farmers like me, who lost all their life savings…every bit of income we have earned until now. We are angry about what happened. We demanded answers and protested outside the bank branch. We then decided to take the matter legally and approach the police. We have been cheated.”

He also said his children were due to get married in December and that he had intended to use the money for the occasion.

“My children are getting married in December. My plan was to withdraw the money, to use it. But now, I am shocked. Where is my money? I never received any receipt of payment. The police told us they will investigate, but we want a response from the bank. None of the farmers will back down until every single amount is returned,” he said.

Another customer, Sanjay, told The Indian Express that his father had given him Rs 10 lakh to invest in a fixed deposit. He had already used Rs 8 lakh and wanted to access the remaining funds for his 12-year-old daughter's medical treatment.

“The doctor recently told me I would need Rs 1.5 lakh for an MRI and medicines. I had Rs 60,000-70,000 in my account, so I thought I’d break my FD. When I came to the bank today, it was gone,” he said.

“How will I treat my daughter?” Sanjay asked. “I am a poor man. If I ask for a loan, they ask me for land papers.”

The Print also reported that another farmer, Gautam, said his father’s account had held Rs 94 lakh but was left with just Rs 16,000 when they visited the bank to withdraw Rs 50,000.

Customers question missing alerts and delayed access to records

The circumstances surrounding the alleged transactions remain unclear, but customers have raised concerns about how the money could have disappeared without their knowledge.

Several account holders alleged that they had not received messages notifying them of transactions. News18 reported that some customers also alleged that bank employees had disabled SMS alerts before the disputed transactions took place. These claims have not been verified yet.

India Today reported that some customers alleged they had repeatedly been told that an audit was underway when they sought access to their account records. They claimed that these delays prevented them from checking their balances and identifying the suspected irregularities earlier.

According to The Indian Express, customers began checking their accounts after the bank allegedly sent messages and made calls asking them to provide four to five days’ notice before withdrawing more than Rs 1 lakh.

A police officer said that one customer found the requests unusual and checked his account, prompting others to do the same.

The officer said the total amount was still being established as more people came forward. “The exact amount has not been established. One person alleged they had a crore in the bank, another said Rs 10 lakh. Currently, the amount is a few crores. Many people are still coming forward (to file complaints) and may continue to do so for another week.”

FIR registered, employees suspended

The Gautam Buddh Nagar police have registered an FIR at the Beta-2 police station in connection with the complaints. The case concerns criminal breach of trust under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A senior police officer told The Print that at least 18 people had approached the police by Wednesday noon, with the alleged amount exceeding Rs 16 crore at that stage. The Economic Offences Wing was brought in to investigate further, the officer said.

Five employees, including the branch manager, had been suspended and the branch staff replaced.

The investigation is expected to establish how the disputed transactions were carried out, whether fixed deposits were closed without customers' authorisation and whether bank employees were involved. Police are also examining whether the funds were siphoned off or disappeared because of other irregularities.

The bank’s chief manager, Rakesh Nigam, told customers, “We cannot say exactly when this started. It is a scam, and those found guilty will be caught and sent to jail. All the staff has been transferred, and the money will be returned within a week.”

With inputs from agencies