NIA probes ₹11,000-salary worker linked to 5 houses, SUV, sedan after ₹17 crore fake currency found in PNB chest: Report

A contract worker earning ₹11,000 monthly is reportedly under investigation for his potential connection to ₹17.29 crore in counterfeit currency discovered at a PNB chest. Although no direct evidence links him to the currency, his relationship with a suspended manager raises suspicions.

A contract worker with a monthly income of around ₹11,000 is under scrutiny in the investigation into counterfeit currency worth ₹17.29 crore found at a Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, according to a Hindustan Times report citing police officer familiar with the case.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is scrutinising the worker’s assets and financial dealings, as well as his links with the currency chest manager, who has been suspended by the bank.

A currency chest is a bank-run facility used to hold and handle large volumes of cash on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Contract worker had access to cash-handling areas?

The contract worker, who was posted as a driver-loader at the currency chest, is believed to have effective ownership of five houses, an SUV, a sedan and two motorcycles, the officer said. Investigators are now checking when the properties and vehicles were purchased, the names under which they were registered and how the purchases were financed.

The officer said agencies have so far found no direct evidence connecting these assets to the counterfeit currency. However, the worker’s alleged closeness to suspended currency chest manager Amit Kumar has led investigators to examine whether he had any role in the case.

According to the officer, the worker was officially responsible for driving and loading-related tasks. Investigators, however, are looking into allegations that he spent substantial time at the currency chest and operated in a capacity similar to the manager’s personal assistant.

“His access to the facility, the nature of work he actually performed and whether he had access to cash-handling areas are being scrutinised,” the report quoted police officer as saying.

The worker’s lifestyle has also come under the investigators’ lens. Despite earning ₹11,000 a month, he allegedly employed another driver for about ₹500 a day rather than driving himself regularly. Investigators are examining property papers, bank accounts, vehicle registrations and payment records to determine whether his declared income could explain the assets linked to him.

Police searched his residence in Manakmau on Wednesday, recovering documents and other material that are now being scrutinised. The examination of his assets is significant as investigators seek to trace how counterfeit currency worth ₹17.29 crore made its way into a PNB currency chest designated for genuine cash. The NIA is probing whether fake notes were used to replace legitimate currency and, if so, where the original cash went.

Investigators are also looking into the possibility of a wider network operating behind the case, including potential links outside India. The report noted that records of cash movements and banking transactions are being analysed to determine how the counterfeit notes entered the financial system and whether any of them were subsequently put into circulation.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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