Rs 10 crore fake notes found in ICICI Bank currency chest

Recovery of fake currencies of worth Rs 10.7787840 crore from ICICI bank’s chest in Hazratganj set the alarm bell ringing hinting the role of ISI supported racketeers who keep pumping fake currencies in the market to weak the Indian economy.

The scam surfaced when Regional head, Currency Operations, UP and Uttarakhand, Manish Pandey detected the fraud during search and lodged a complaint with the Hazratganj police. In his complaint, Pandey told that the bank had it’s chest at Gokhle Marg in Hazratganj. He further informed the police that the currencies were deposited in the bank’s chest 

between year 2006 and March 1, 2013. The number of the currencies found fake numbered 302683 and maximum number of currencies are in highest denomination, of Rs 1000. He told that the currencies were deposited from various branches of ICICI banks in UP and Uttarakhand.  

After the incident came to light, the SSP lucknow assigned the Crime Branch to solve the case. Initial probe hinted the role of the some bank employees in the scam. Sources in 

Crime branch told that the officials assigned with the job to keep a check on the currencies deposited in the bank’s chest. They said the role of racketeers circulating fake 

currencies in the market would be behind the major scam.  

Sources said the fake currencies were detected after it was checked by Ultra Violet rays at the bank’s chest. "Usually  at banks, it is difficult to detect a fake currency due to excess work load and quick delivery pressure on the bank employees. But when the currencies reach the chest it were detected,’ they said. The sources said the police had sight 

details about the cash deposited time to time at the chest by various branches of the banks. "The police also had sought CCTV footage from the various banks to detect the 

suspects and get a possible clue about the miscreants," they said.

They added that role of some bank employees could be overruled as it was possible that they would have connivance with the racketeers. "The infamous Pak based ISI agency pump the fake currencies through its local network via porous boarder of Nepal and Bangladesh. In all probability it seemed that some local overseer of the infamous agency would have done the ‘job’," they said.