ED attaches assets of ex-Punjab & Sind Bank officer who broke customers’ FDs to play online games

Immovable assets and fixed deposits worth Rs 2.56 crore of a former Punjab & Sind Bank officer have been attached after it was found that he allegedly broke customer FDs worth over Rs 52 crore and used them to play online games, the ED said Sunday.

Bedanshu Shekhar Mishra, posted at the bank’s branch at Khalsa College in Delhi University’s north campus, was suspended by the lender in November 2022 after the alleged fraud came to light, the central agency said in a statement.

The Enforcement Directorate case, filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a CBI FIR and the fraud is alleged to have taken place between 2021-22.

The ED said the probe found that Mishra ”reportedly misused his official position and carried out fraudulent transactions by using his system ID and those of other staff members to unauthorisedly break the FDs (fixed deposits) of several customers including those from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, Delhi University without their knowledge”. He ”committed fraud and forgery with the bank as well as with the account holders of the bank and misappropriated or siphoned public money to the tune of Rs 52,99,53,698,” the agency claimed.

Mishra used the ”proceeds of crime for playing online games such as Monopoly, Poker, Teen Patti etc. on different online gaming websites such as Goa247.live, Indibet.com and betway.” The proceeds of the alleged crime were mainly transferred by him (Mishra) to the online gaming companies by routing through various current accounts of different business entities, the agency said.

The accounts to which the proceeds were transferred by Mishra were borrowed by the owners of the gaming website/companies on commission basis, it said. A provisional order under the PMLA has been issued to attach immovable properties and fixed deposits worth Rs 2.56 crore of Mishra, the ED said.