The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against two senior payroll executives of telecommunications giant Nokia Solutions & Networks India Pvt Ltd for allegedly orchestrating a multi-crore fraud involving the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). According to law enforcement officials, the accused officers created 94 fictitious provident fund accounts and fraudulently diverted ₹19.33 crore from the corporate fund corpus. The FIR names Vaibhav Verma, Payroll Cluster Lead, and Kamaraju Mutyala, Head of Payroll Management, along with unidentified public servants and private individuals suspected of participating in the criminal conspiracy.
The action follows an official complaint submitted by the EPFO’s Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (Vigilance) in Delhi, based on findings from both an internal forensic audit conducted by Nokia and a subsequent probe by the EPFO’s Zonal Fraud Risk Management Committee. The central investigative agency has invoked relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Information Technology (IT) Act to investigate allegations of cheating, forgery, breach of trust, and computer-related offenses.
Modus Operandi and Internal Forensic Audit Findings
The origins of the fraudulent enterprise trace back to a transition period in Nokia’s corporate provident fund management structure. Historically, Nokia Solutions operated as an “exempted establishment” under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, which permitted the enterprise to manage employee provident fund contributions through an internal, privately administered trust. In July 2023, Nokia formally submitted an application to surrender its exempted status, seeking to transfer all past member accumulations to the EPFO and commence statutory compliance as an un-exempted establishment effective September 1, 2023.
Following the approval and transfer of accumulations to the EPFO, internal discrepancies prompted Nokia to launch a comprehensive forensic audit in January 2025. The audit revealed that Verma and Mutyala had systematically manipulated payroll data and digital submission files to generate fake employee profiles during the 2023–24 period. Investigators discovered that the accused executives used their official credentials to approve false Know Your Customer (KYC) details and confirm employment statuses for 94 non-existent individuals. Forensic evidence recovered from their company-issued laptops demonstrated that the duo had deliberately deleted official submission logs and maintained hidden electronic communications containing banking details of external individuals not associated with Nokia.
EPFO Scrutiny and Systemic Regulatory Action
Upon receiving preliminary findings from Nokia regarding the scale of the irregularities, the EPFO mobilized its Zonal Fraud Risk Management Committee (ZFRMC) to evaluate the integrity of the transferred records. The committee confirmed that 94 accounts belonged to fake or non-genuine members who had received illegal fund disbursements. The fraudulent withdrawals caused an estimated wrongful loss of approximately ₹20 crore to the corporate trust and the EPFO corpus, factoring in principal amounts and associated investment yields.
The inclusion of unknown public servants in the CBI FIR points to potential lapses or collusion during the verification and approval stages within the regional provident fund administration. Investigators are examining whether internal system overrides or software vulnerabilities were exploited to process withdrawals without raising automated fraud flags. Based on the audit outcomes, Nokia placed both Verma and Mutyala under immediate suspension and initiated formal departmental disciplinary proceedings prior to forwarding the case to federal law enforcement authorities.
Company Response and Broader Legal Implications
Responding to the legal proceedings, a spokesperson for Nokia stated that the organization maintains zero tolerance for unethical conduct and adheres strictly to corporate compliance standards. The company confirmed that it is fully cooperating with the CBI and relevant regulatory authorities during the ongoing investigation, though it declined to offer further specific details regarding active litigation.
The case highlights emerging vulnerabilities surrounding corporate transitions from privately managed trusts to centralized public statutory bodies. Cybersecurity and legal analysts emphasize that internal payroll controls require continuous, independent auditing—particularly during structural migration phases—to prevent insider threats from abusing elevated administrative access. The CBI’s ongoing probe aims to trace the complete financial trail of the siphoned funds, recover the diverted assets, and identify all co-conspirators involved in the scam.
