Citibank fraud: Main accused Puri’s remand extended till Friday

GURGAON - A local court here on Wednesday extended the police remand of Shivraj Puri, the main accused in the alleged Rs 400 crore Citibank fraud till January 14.

The remand has been extended by two-days, as the police is yet to recover Puri’s iPad, which is considered to be a vital evidence in the case.

Chief Judicial Magistrate D N Bhardwaj remanded Puri in police custody for two more days after public prosecutor said that police needed more time to gather evidence and verification of data gathered by chartered accountants.

Earlier on January 4, the police summoned Puri’s parents for questioning in the Citibank fraud case.

The police took into its custody the Chief Finance Officer of the Hero Group and associates, Sanjay Gupta, on January 3 for his alleged involvement in the Citibank scam.

According to the police, Gupta made a profit of Rs 20 crore through the scam by allegedly initiating staff of the Hero Group to invest money amounting to Rs 200 crore in his two firms - BG Finance and G2S Management Consultants.

Both Puri and Gupta allegedly had a deal to first get the money deposited in Gupta”s company, from where Puri would siphon it off to one of his “fake” accounts.

The arrest came five days after Puri, who worked at the Bank’s Gurgaon branch as a relationship manager, surrendered on December 30 after being accused of siphoning money from 20 accounts of high worth individuals.

A case of cheating and forgery was registered against Puri and the others DLF Phase-II Police Station on January 2 after Citibank lodged a formal complaint.

Puri had opened three accounts in a Gurgaon branch in the names of his relatives. He had asked customers to deposit money in these accounts under a scheme that promised double returns. But once money was deposited, Puri transferred it into his own account.

The fraud came to light after the Bank probed certain suspicious transactions based on documents allegedly forged by an employee. (ANI)