The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has reportedly detained three officials of the Druk Punjab National Bank Ltd in Thimphu in connection with the alleged missing of more than Nu 10 million (M) from its automatic teller machines (ATM).

Kuensel learnt that the bank’s vault in-charge and chief cashier were detained since last Friday and the ATM in-charge on Tuesday, July 18. The commission has reportedly detained three officials for not cooperating with the investigators.

The Anti-Corruption Act 2011 empowers the commission to arrest and detain suspects without warrant upon reasonable suspicion of the person having committed or being about to commit an offence under the ACC Act.

The bank filed its complaint to the ACC on May 20 after they found cash shortage in the ATMs. The ATM in-charge was responsible to refurbish nine ATMs in Thimphu with adequate cash regularly for daily withdrawals and to keep the ATMs running.

A team led by the bank’s internal auditor and the branch manager with two other employees who were acquainted with the ATM system conducted an investigation.

In an earlier interview, the bank’s chief executive officer, DK Gupta, had said that as per the system, there should be two people to handle the ATMs. However, they did not share details of the second person deputed by the bank.

He had also said that the branch manager also manages the ATMs. The CEO said that there was nothing wrong with the accounts in the bank’s system. “It was only after physical verification that the bank knew some cash was missing,” DK Gupta had said. “We don’t know how he did it.”

However, sources say that the ACC has not yet ascertained the exact amount that is missing.

Meanwhile, the commission is also reportedly looking into the alleged misappropriation of Visa fees amounting to Nu 1.6M in the immigration office at the Paro International Airport. Sources say that the ACC is probing into the alleged misused of visa fees collected from tourists visiting Bhutan from 2012 to date.

ACC officials refused to comment on both the cases.

Rinzin Wangchuk

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