Punjab National Bank currency chest fraud in Saharanpur

A major currency fraud has been uncovered at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The incident was detected during an audit after a cash remittance sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed a shortfall of approximately ₹4.36 lakh.

Initial findings identified ₹7.40 crore in counterfeit notes, but subsequent scrutiny of records and cash has raised the estimated value of the fake currency to nearly ₹17 crore. Investigators suspect that genuine banknotes were systematically replaced with counterfeits within the secured vault.

PNB has suspended three officials: senior divisional manager Ravi Kumar, currency chest manager Sushil Sharma, and manager Amit Kumar. Additionally, a part-time housekeeper, Vishal Kumar, has been implicated in a separate cash shortfall and was reportedly seen on CCTV handling currency bundles.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to examine bank transaction records, audit documents, and CCTV footage to determine how the counterfeit notes entered the high-security facility and how the genuine currency was removed.