Co-accused in Citibank fraud sent to judicial custody

Gurgaon, Jan 15 (PTI) A local court today remanded SanjayGupta, a co-accused in the Rs 400 crore Citibank fraud, to14-day judicial custody.

Gupta, who was senior official in Hero CorporateServices, was arrested on January 3 in connection with thefraud affecting about 40 corporate entities and high networthindividuals.

He allegedly received about Rs 20 crore commission fromShivraj Puri, the alleged mastermind of the fraud, in lieu ofarranging investments.

Puri, a Relationship Manager with Citibank''s Gurgaonbranch, is accused of luring high net-worth individuals toinvest in bogus schemes by promising unusually high returns,which he falsely substantiated with a forged letter frommarket regulator Sebi.

Yesterday, the court Chief Judicial Magistrate D NBhardwaj had also sent Puri in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Citibank today said it is reconcilingits accounts and working out a "fair compensation" for thosecustomers affected by it.

"This process will happen over a period of time. Wewould like to thank our customers for their patience andco-operation," the bank said in a statement.

"We have since been in contact with our impactedcustomers and are committed to safeguarding our customers''legitimate interests," it added.

The global banking major said that it has beenreconciling amounts involved with impacted customers to arriveat the compensation package.

"We will also continue to support the investigatingauthorities fully until this matter is resolved and brought toits logical conclusion," the statement said.

A multi-pronged probe involving the police, bankingregulator RBI and capital markets watchdog Sebi is currentlyunderway in the fraud case involving Puri.

One of the victims has even named Citibank''s global chiefVikram Pandit and other senior executives in his complaint.

But the bank said claims against its senior officials werebaseless and it would vigorously defend them.