Indian Overseas Bank Official Transferred For Exposing Financial Malpractices

In a shocking revelation, an official of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) found himself on the wrong side of the law after exposing corrupt practices in his branch.

However, instead of applauding the act of truth-telling, the whistleblower was swiftly transferred to a distant region in the midst of his banking tenure. The transfer letter cited “advisory reasons.”

Illegitimate Loan Disbursal Unearthed
The IOB branch in the Eastern region of India came under intense scrutiny when a whistleblower within the bank provided senior officials with concrete evidence of unauthorised loan disbursal orchestrated by the branch manager.

An official of the bank revealed that loans were recklessly disbursed without proper background checks to cattle purchasers and real estate dealers. The whistleblower had lodged a complaint on the bank’s Whistleblower portal, but it fell on deaf ears among higher authorities.

On the condition of anonymity, an IOB employee told Kanal, “Despite the manager being devoid of official authorisation to provide loans, he sabotaged and superseded his colleague – the credit officer – during the process which has been continuing for the past few months.”

Questionable Developments
Allegations arose when an auditing officer revisited the branch for further examination, sparking speculations. The officers’ association/union of the bank was criticised for not protecting the whistleblower's interests.

Another employee said, “the officer concerned for auditing the activities of the branch revisited the branch for subsequent auditing, giving rise to speculations.

Moreover, despite the Indian Overseas Bank having a whistleblower scheme, the whistleblower was not paid heed and subsequently transferred to another location.

Backlash on Social Media
The victimisation of the whistleblower has triggered outrage on social media, with bankers expressing their solidarity. The We Bankers Association, the trade union of bank employees, criticised the bank's management for its actions.

It tweeted, “Irony is Whistleblower is punished by the Bank for exposing Br Fraud and transferred arbitrarily in absentia are Celebrating Vigilance Awareness Week. How Weak is the Whistle Blower Policy of the Bank which can't keep the details of Whistleblower protected and confidential. Now Higher Management is busy in Harrasing the honest Officer instead of punishing the Fraudster Officials. #ShameOnIOBManagement #WarAgainstCorruptionisJoke @CVCIndia @DFS_India @RBI @PMOIndia @nsitharamanoffc”

Ironically, the Indian Overseas Bank on November 5 2023 organised an event as “Fight Against Corruption” in presence of the Director, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption also observing the Vigilance Awareness Week.

Institutionalised Ignorance
Recurring unethical practices in the recent past have rocked the institutions of public sector banks.

Instances of Bob World fiasco due to deadline pressure, WhatsApp mounting pressure on SBI officials for official communication and senior officials resigning from PSBs citing staff shortage reflect banks being victims of institutional ignorance.