Summary of this article
· Hitesh Singla exploited 127 bank accounts, including those of senior citizens
· Fraud conducted between May 2023 and July 2025
· Investigation follows a complaint from Bank of India, probing deeper into fraud.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Hitesh Singla, a Bank of India's staff officer, in a Rs 16.10 crore money laundering case. Singla allegedly defrauded 127 deposit account holders, transferring funds from their accounts to personal ones. The victims include vulnerable groups: senior citizens, deceased customers, dormant accounts, and minors. Singla, posted in one of the Mumbai branches of the public sector bank, has been absconding since the detection of the fraud he committed between May 2023 and July 2025.
The fraud came to light when a family member (legal heir) of a senior citizen asked for the details of the senior citizen's bank account and related deposits, but the Bank found these accounts to have been closed. Upon further investigation, the Bank discovered that the accounts had been closed. The money was routed through an office account of the branch and then to his personal account in Punjab. The Bank suspended him in August after finding his involvement in the fraud, per The Indian Express report.
The ED started its investigation into the matter based on the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ACB, Mumbai, on the complaint of the Bank.
On September 17, 2025, Singla was arrested at the Ahmedabad Junction railway station when he was trying to flee. Per the ED's report, during his travel in the Mahamana Express from Ujjain to Veraval, he was constantly changing his seat and coaches, trying not to be caught, but the ED intercepted and arrested him finally at the railway station. He was produced before a special court and from there he was sent to 7 days' custody, till September 23.
According to ED's statement, "during the period May 2023 to July 2025, Singla, with mala fide and criminal intent, fraudulently closed Term Deposits (TDs), Public Provident Funds (PPFs), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) accounts, Savings Bank (SB) accounts, and Current Accounts (CAs) without authorisation. The proceeds were credited into his personal savings accounts maintained with SBI."
ED alleged, "The diverted funds were layered and transferred in a piecemeal and concealed manner. By this modus operandi, Singla defrauded the Bank of India and its customers to the tune of Rs 16.10 Crore, thereby causing loss to the Bank, damaging its reputation, and eroding public trust by misusing his official position."
It has also searched one of his accomplices' premises under the PMLA's violation. Singla is under custody, and further investigation is being done.
