Indian police on Thursday said they had arrested the key suspect in a multi-million-dollar scam unearthed at a Citibank branch in Gurgaon, a booming satellite city outside New Delhi. Police allege that more than four billion rupees (88 million dollars) was channelled by Citibank employee Shivraj Puri and his partners into bogus financial schemes from the accounts of corporate clients and wealthy individuals.
"We have arrested one bank employee for duping investors and diverting funds from their bank accounts," senior police officer S.S. Deswal told AFP. Puri is expected to appear before a local court on Friday. The alleged fraud came to light when one of the bank's clients mentioned the scheme to a senior manager. Investigations revealed that employees at the bank in Gurgaon, where many international companies are based, had forged letters to sell the fake investment schemes.
Citibank said in a statement that it was inspecting suspicious transactions and providing full assistance to the authorities. "I have already given full details to the police. I have full faith in the judiciary. Truth will come out," Puri told the Times of India after his arrest. The allegations are the latest financial scandal to hit India. Last month several senior executives of state-run banks and an insurer in Mumbai were arrested over bribes totalling more than 200 million dollars paid to sanction loans to property developers.
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