PNB’s ₹ 17 crore fake currency case: NIA arrests bank manager – How did the fraud emerge? | Today’s news
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a fugitive accused bank manager in connection with the alleged counterfeit currency conspiracy at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) counter in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Accused Amit Kumar has been named in the FIR related to the case.
Kumar was arrested in Chandigarh on September 7, according to the NIA intelligence agency as reported by dby. He was subsequently produced before the Special NIA Court in Chandigarh, which granted a two-day transit remand to enable his production before the Special NIA Court in Lucknow.
“The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested absconding accused Amit Kumar, a bank employee and key accused in the FIR of conspiracy related to counterfeit currency notes at Punjab National Bank counter, Saharanpur, UP, in case RC-02/2026/NIA/LKW,” an official NIA statement said.
What is it about?
The case relates to the recovery of counterfeit Indian currency notes ₹17.29 crore from the PNB treasury at Saharanpur on August 29, 2026.
A case was initially registered on August 29 at the Sadar Bazar police station in Saharanpur under Section 178 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, against three accused persons.
During the initial investigation, the involvement of three PNB employees, who were later suspended by the bank, also came to light. The case was subsequently taken over by the NIA and re-registered on 3 September 2026.
The investigating agency is looking into the wider conspiracy, including the source, purchase and movement of the counterfeit currency and the alleged roles of others involved.
Amit Kumar, who served as PNB manager and was the joint treasury manager at the relevant time, is among the three employees of the bank named in the FIR.
The NIA said its investigation is continuing to uncover the complete conspiracy and trace and arrest the remaining accused persons.
Earlier this month, the Uttar Pradesh police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged circulation and storage of counterfeit currency. Subsequently, the police expanded the investigation to neighboring districts as well as Haryana and Uttarakhand.
How was the case discovered?
The discrepancy was discovered after a shortage of money sent from PNB’s Ghantaghar branch in Saharanpur to the RBI treasury in Jaipur was found, prompting an investigation.
During a follow-up audit that began on August 9, officials found 148 packages of counterfeit money, each containing a thousand. ₹500 notes. The initial value of the fake notes was calculated at ₹7.40 million crowns.
As the currency audit continued, the amount of counterfeit money detected increased to approx ₹17 million. Part-time housekeeper Vishal Kumar was seen on CCTV footage removing notes from bundles of currency while working inside the till.
