Union Demands Forensic Audit of All 10,500 PNB Branches Nationwide

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-11-02 16:35:00

Following an alleged ₹11.24 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank's Greater Noida branch involving compromised staff passwords, the officers' federation demands an immediate comprehensive audit across all 10,500 PNB branches nationwide alongside a central CBI probe.

GREATER NOIDA — In the wake of an unauthorized fund siphoning scandal totaling ₹11.24 crore at Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Greater Noida branch, serious systemic alarms have triggered widespread concern across the public sector banking ecosystem. Unauthorized electronic fund diversions directly from customers' savings accounts and fixed deposits without account-holder consent have sparked panic, prompting the All India Punjab National Bank Officers' Federation to demand an exhaustive, forensic security audit covering all 10,500 PNB branches operating across the country. Emphasizing that reactionary employee suspensions merely mask deep operational vulnerabilities, the union has cautioned the bank management that addressing systemic shortcomings and forensic auditing across internal IT protocols is essential to prevent recurring institutional breaches.

Unauthorized Transfers and Stolen Credentials: How ₹11.24 Crore Vanished from 21 Accounts

The controversy surfaced when multiple retail depositors at the Greater Noida facility reported sudden, unexplained cash deductions from their interest-bearing fixed deposits and daily savings accounts. Preliminary internal investigations uncovered an alleged loss exceeding ₹11.24 crore directly affecting at least 21 verified customer accounts, with unconfirmed depositor claims suggesting aggregate sums could be higher. Primary inquiries point to a female bank staffer who allegedly colluded with external conspirators by illicitly accessing confidential system login passwords assigned to superior officials, including the branch manager, to authorize fraudulent outward remittances. In response, bank authorities suspended implicated personnel, formally referred the case file to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and initiated customer restitution protocols, disbursing ₹4.3 million (₹43 lakh) across three cleared settlement claims as of October 28.

Union Petitions MD & CEO: Staff Shortages, Branch Audits, and Systemic Vulnerabilities Flagged

Taking strong exception to unilateral disciplinary measures against field-level staff, the All India Punjab National Bank Officers' Federation submitted a formal memorandum on October 30 to PNB’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, demanding a nationwide operational assessment. The federation urged senior leadership to objectively review acute staffing deficiencies, arguing that chronic understaffing combined with excessive workloads creates hazardous operational conditions that compromise core branch security and internal oversight. Union representatives insisted that accountability cannot be limited to branch managers or frontline clerks, demanding that supervisory roles within the bank's corporate, zonal, and circle offices face equal scrutiny regarding whether personnel received mandatory instruction on cash protocols, internal cybersecurity guidelines, and fraud-detection procedures.

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