An employee of Bank of Baroda posted at the Kalupur branch in Ahmedabad has been accused of siphoning off Rs 8.7 crore from the bank’s currency chest and allegedly hiding the shortage by uploading fake balance certificates on the RBI’s e-Kuber portal.The fraud came to light during an internal audit after the employee remained absent from work for an extended period.
According to a complaint filed at Kalupur Police on Friday by the bank’s chief manager, the accused, a resident of Chandkheda, was serving as the joint custodian of the currency chest at the Gandhi Road branch.The employee reportedly went on leave on April 13 citing health reasons but did not return despite repeated phone calls and emails from the bank.
During a subsequent audit, officials allegedly found 174 reams of Rs 500 notes missing from the currency chest. Each ream reportedly contained 10 bundles of 100 notes each, taking the total value of the missing cash to Rs 8.7 crore.The discrepancy surfaced after a new custodian took charge and the physical cash was matched with official records.
The complaint further alleged that internal records falsely showed the cash as available, raising suspicion that the accused manipulated the “bin book” and Excel sheets used for daily reconciliation. These records were allegedly used to generate certificates uploaded to the RBI’s e-Kuber system.During the inquiry, CCTV footage reportedly showed the accused entering the branch on the evening of January 13.
A labourer and his son allegedly arrived shortly afterwards, and the footage later showed the three individuals leaving the premises carrying multiple boxes.
According to the complainant, security staff had informed him that night that the accused was taking boxes out of the branch.
When questioned, the accused allegedly claimed the boxes contained scrap material meant for disposal. The same explanation was reportedly given to the security guard.