The Odisha Crime Branch’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has apprehended Khirod Nayak, an employee of a private bank, for embezzling Rs 2.3 crores from a senior citizen widow’s bank account in Cuttack.
The Crime Branch reports that the complainant held Savings, Current, and OD Accounts at AXIS Bank’s Badambadi Branch in Cuttack. Following her husband’s demise, Nayak was appointed as her Relationship Manager by the bank. Lacking knowledge of banking investment processes, she relied on him. He frequently visited her home, as she was a privileged account holder, to provide her with quarterly bank account statements.
At Nayak’s persistent urging, she transferred her Savings account funds into a Fixed Deposit for higher returns, during which he acquired multiple signatures from her. She only discovered an OD loan and the transfer of funds to Sumitra Khuntia’s account when notified by the bank’s loan department.
Upon further inquiry, she learned that approximately Rs. 2.3 Crores had been withdrawn from her FD Account, and numerous transactions had been made to Sumitra Khuntia’s HDFC Bank account, a complete stranger. She also found that her registered mobile number had been changed without her knowledge, and she received no OTPs for the transactions.
The Cyber Crime Unit of the Crime Branch, through bank details and other documents obtained during the investigation, identified and arrested the main suspect, Khirod Kumar Nayak (39), from Samanta Sahi, Buxibazar, Cuttack, who is a Relationship Manager at the private bank.
Interrogation revealed that Nayak has been employed in banking for the past 20 years and has spent the last six years at this private bank. He cultivated strong relationships with customers and earned their trust over time. He exploited this trust to open several savings accounts for illicit fund transfers.
