By buld_online 
ICICI Bank is at the centre of a significant financial scandal after a relationship manager allegedly stole Rs 4.58 crore from customers between 2020 and 2023. The 26-year-old employee executed the fraud during her tenure by exploiting financial products such as fixed deposits and personal loans, according to the bank’s internal audit report.
The bank’s audit team, which uncovered the fraudulent activities, immediately informed the branch manager, who then filed a First Information Report (FIR) leading to her arrest on 31 May 2025, a report in the Economic Times stated.
The accused managed the fraud by using multiple stock broking platforms, including ICICI Direct and Zerodha, to trade in derivatives. This was facilitated by prematurely breaking fixed deposits, creating overdrafts, and taking personal loans in customers’ names without their consent.
“She is now 26 years old and this crime was committed by her from 2020 to 2023 i.e. during her period of employment with ICICI Bank. Our police investigation has revealed that she used multiple stock broking websites and apps like ICICI Direct, Zerodha (Kite), to trade in the derivative segment (Future and Options),” said Additional SP Dilip Saini.
The fraud primarily targeted senior citizens who were less familiar with digital banking, further complicating detection efforts. The employee skilfully covered her digital tracks, making detection challenging for colleagues and the branch manager.
The Superintendent of Police in Kota, Rajasthan, disclosed that the majority of the victims targeted by the individual, who used their accounts to fund her stock market endeavors, were elderly individuals with limited technology skills. The police further revealed that she effectively concealed her activities and digital presence, eluding detection by her coworkers and branch manager. It was only through the diligent efforts of the bank’s internal audit team that the scheme was uncovered and brought to light.
“This scam that she used to run during her employment (2020-2023) was brought to our notice by the ICICI Bank branch manager who in turn was informed by the bank’s internal audit team. Although we arrested her, but we believe such a small age girl could not have managed to conduct this scam alone, there must be other accomplices. We are still investigating. We have traced all the affected bank customers and found most of them were senior citizens who are not so tech savvy and merely invested in FDs and other banking products,” Saini added.
In response to the fraud, ICICI Bank reaffirmed its commitment to customer security, stating, “The interest of our customers are of paramount importance to us. Immediately upon discovering the fraudulent activity, we filed an FIR with the police. We have a zero-tolerance policy against any fraudulent activity and thus suspended the employee involved. We would like to reassure that genuine claims of impacted customers have been settled.” The bank has filed all necessary reports and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation to identify any potential accomplices.
The investigation revealed that a third-party account was used as a pool account to consolidate the stolen funds. “Investigation also revealed that she used a third party’s account as a pool account to collect all the money she took out by prematurely withdrawing the FDs, creating overdrafts (ODs) and even personal loans in the customer’s name,” the police said.