Chapter 11: A Hollow Replication

Sonia and the rest of the Central Office staff returned to Bhandup office. Officials from the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Banking Division had already arrived to investigate the massive fraud. They locked themselves in the boardroom to interrogate top management and demand copies of numerous documents, leaving the corporate staff buried under a mountain of work. Walking past Vicky and Anisha’s desks, Sonia noticed the absolute panic on their faces.

The next day, the EOW investigators began interrogating lower-level staff members individually right on the floor, including Anisha and Vicky. When it was Sonia’s turn, they briefly questioned her about her specific role in the department and the precautions she had observed while processing paperwork. Though she replied carefully, their rude demeanor rattled her. At the end of the day, the officers lined up all the staff on the floor.

EOW Investigator: If any of you processed suspicious transactions, overrode system alerts, or noticed irregularities in the major borrower accounts, speak up now. If we pull up the system audit logs later and find out you intentionally buried something, you will be treated as an accomplice.

The entire floor went completely quiet. Nobody dared to look the officers in the eye.

Sonia was terrified. That night at home, her composure broke completely. She cried bitterly in the arms of Ramesh as he held her tightly and tried to console her.

As the days passed, the RBI managed to ease the public panic slightly by officially increasing the customer withdrawal limit to ₹10,000. However, the HNI section staff were summoned to the EOW office one by one. Sonia was officially called in for a grueling interrogation because her name was right on the fraudulent credit files she had processed. They cornered her immediately at the briefing table.

EOW Investigator: How many years have you been working with this bank?

Sonia: I’ve been with the bank for fifteen years. But I worked mostly in the branch. I was transferred to the Central Office only nine months ago.

EOW Investigator: Even if you are new to the corporate office, you are an experienced credit staff member. Why did you create these massive limits in the system?

Sonia: It was standard practice. Processing staff creates the limit after the file is approved by the MD, and it is authorized in the system by the DGM.

EOW Investigator: That is not an excuse for an executive of your rank. Your signature is on the processing documents. Why did you process the file of a borrower company that was part of a group already having millions in unpaid overdues with the bank?

Sonia: I never knew it. It was not mentioned anywhere in the files, nor was I guided by any seniors about it.

EOW Investigator: Don’t you see the bank’s overdue reports?

Sonia: No. My work profile was strictly related to processing files. I never had access to the list of the bank’s overdue accounts. Prima facie, the companies never looked like they were part of the other company group.

EOW Investigator: Did you know about the fraudulent practices employed by your DGM or MD? Was there anything unusual you observed?

Sonia: No Sir.

EOW Investigator: If we find out you hid any details from us, you will face direct jail time.

The blunt threat of prison completely shattered her composure. After finally leaving the EOW office, she spent her entire long, exhausting train journey back to her home frantically texting Akash on WhatsApp. Akash kept messaging her continuously throughout her commute, his steady reassurance keeping her from a total nervous breakdown until she reached her station.