NOIDA: An internal audit at a Noida branch of a major non-banking finance company uncovered a web of forged documents, fictitious borrowers and alleged collusion, exposing how routine lending processes were quietly bent to siphon off nearly ₹7.5 crore over more than a year
A Quiet Audit Raises Alarms
The first indication that something was wrong did not come from a whistleblower or a police raid, but from paperwork. A routine internal audit at a finance company’s branch in Noida flagged discrepancies that did not fit ordinary accounting errors. Loan files appeared complete on paper, yet the trail behind them felt thin.
According to the complaint later filed with the police, the audit revealed irregularities amounting to several crore rupees. As investigators began to scrutinise individual loan accounts, patterns emerged: repeated similarities in documentation, overlapping timelines and borrower profiles that seemed improbably neat. What initially looked like isolated lapses soon suggested a coordinated scheme operating within the branch.
The company, Manappuram Finance, headquartered in Kerala, traced the suspected fraud to its branch office in Hoshiarpur village in Sector 51, Noida. The findings prompted the firm to approach the Sector 49 police station, setting in motion a criminal investigation that would widen rapidly.
Forged Identities and Phantom Borrowers
At the centre of the case are 57 loans allegedly sanctioned between February 2023 and August this year. Investigators say these loans were approved using forged documents, in the names of two firms and several individuals who, according to later verification, either did not exist or had no connection to the addresses provided.
When company representatives visited the listed locations, they found no trace of the supposed borrowers. Local residents told them they had never heard of the individuals named in the loan files, nor had such people ever lived in the neighbourhoods mentioned.
The scale of the losses—estimated at ₹7.47 crore—suggests more than casual negligence. Police say the loans were processed in a manner that allowed funds to be disbursed without meaningful verification, pointing to systematic manipulation of internal checks that are designed to prevent exactly such outcomes
Allegations of Collusion Inside the Branch
The police case names 14 employees, including the branch manager, Shriprakash, along with other staff members. In the complaint, the company has alleged that some employees acted in collusion with agents and dealers to push the loans through.
This alleged network, investigators believe, enabled fraudulent approvals by bypassing standard due diligence. Documents were allegedly fabricated to show compliant borrowers and legitimate firms, while internal controls were weakened or ignored.
Police have not publicly detailed how the proceeds were ultimately distributed, but the working assumption is that the scheme relied on trust within the branch and the appearance of routine business.
Criminal Charges and Broader Implications
An FIR has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including provisions related to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. The breadth of the charges reflects the police view that the alleged fraud was neither accidental nor the work of a single individual.
Investigators are now examining digital records, approval logs and communication trails to determine how the loans moved through internal systems without raising immediate red flags. Further arrests or additions to the case are not being ruled out, officials said, as the investigation continues.
