From Rs 4.3 crore to Rs 20 crore: EOW steps in as HDFC loan scam widens; accused used forged salary slips, bank statements
HYDERABAD: The scope of the
HDFC Bank
personal loan fraud has significantly widened, prompting the police commissioner to transfer the case from the cyber crime police to the economic offences wing (EOW).
Initially involving fraudulent loans worth Rs 4.3 crore in the names of 11 individuals, the case has widened after HDFC Bank unearthed 63 more suspicious loans-allegedly orchestrated with the involvement of bank staff-amounting to over Rs 20 crore.
HDFC Bank has provided the names and details of the 63 individuals linked to the Rs 20 crore worth of loans.
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The scam first came to light on May 27, 2023, when V Shrikanth, area investigation manager at HDFC Bank, lodged a complaint with the Cyberabad cyber crime police.
He alleged that 11 individuals, falsely posing as employees of reputed companies, had secured personal loans ranging between Rs 38 lakh and Rs 49.5 lakh in 2022-2023. These applications were processed entirely via the bank's mobile platform using Aadhaar-based e-KYC.
To qualify for the loans, the accused allegedly uploaded forged salary slips, bank statements, and identity proofs, giving the impression of stable incomes.
'Defaulted payments'
Once the loans were disbursed, the borrowers defaulted on payments and vacated the listed addresses. Subsequent verification visits confirmed that none of them worked at the companies they had claimed. On June 10, 2023, police arrested 10 accused, including two HDFC Bank employees D Chitti Babu, risk intelligence and control (RIC) manager at the Banjara Hills branch, and Harish Chandra Gopal Shetty, credit manager in the same branch.
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