Employees at the bank in Gurgaon, where many international companies are based, allegedly forged letters to sell a fake investment scheme to about 40 wealthy clients, the Economic Times newspaper reported.

Nearly 4 billion rupees (88 million dollars) was handed over, according to the paper.

The alleged fraud came to light earlier this month when one of the clients mentioned the scheme to a senior bank manager. Citibank and police confirmed the probe but gave no further details.

The investigation is 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.