In the Pandemic crises, Crores siphoned in Mumbai PF office by own employees

New Delhi: Between March 2020 – 2021, employees in Mumbai’s EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organization) Office  allegedly withdrawn Rs. 21 crores from a common PF pool with fraudulent methods.

As per the probe conducted by The Indian Express,  Chandan Kumar, a 37 year-old clerk in the Kandiwali office of EPFO is the key suspect in matter. Sinha allegedly used 800+ accounts, which mostly belonged to the migrant workers, to claim an integrated PF of nearly Rs. 21 crores on their behalf.  About 90 percent of the money was taken out once the claimed amount was transferred to the respective accounts.

Four other employees of the Mumbai EPFO office, excluding Sinha are under suspension for their alleged involvement in the fraud. Sinha, on the other hand went missing as soon as the fraud emerged.

As per the reports, the case will be shifted to the CBI once the internal audit by the EPFO is concluded.

“No individual PF account has been misused in the fraud. The money belonged to the pooled fund and it is a loss to EPFO not any individual. It is the equivalent of a bank robbery,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

The defrauded money belonged to the pool fund which confined deposits made every month, by registered organizations of EPFO.