Banking System safe?

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How is it that an organisation with systems has not been able to notice a false product being distributed ,deposits received, receipts issued and accounted for?

Do people not check transaction details against receipts issued?

Or these people have a sophisticated Software which does not need to check the receipts issued against inflow?

Even if a receipt book was maintained by the accused,is it possible to keep the same safely over a long period of time?

Again did not the depositors visit the bank even once?

How is it they have not blurted out the ‘Scheme’ to the bank staff or their friends about their wonderful investment?

One thing is sure-we need not bother about fine prints(conditions apply);

The normal document may not also be original.

Another point is , because of IVRS ( automatic recording)system, one hardly finds a human being to answer you.( by the way how is it that none of the investors made an even a casual inquiry at the bank?)

This makes all the more easy for fraudsters who know Software to manipulate records.

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has ruled out any systemic failure in the muti-crore fraud at Citibank and said that precautions are being taken to ensure that such cases are not repeated.

“There are regulations and all other precautions are being taken. But if there is an individual misdemeanor, that has to be acted on. Law will take its own course of action,” Mukherjee told reporters.

The alleged fraud was detected at Citibank’s Gurgaon branch. An FIR for cheating and forgery against a bank employee and three others was lodged on Tuesday and 18 accounts, with about Rs4 crore deposits, were frozen subsequently.

The fraud is said to be a handiwork of Shiv Raj Puri, a relationship manager at the branch, who allegedly sold investment products to high networth clients claiming that they would generate unusually high returns. He also allegedly routed the fund garnered from HNI customers to stock market through brokerage firms like Religare Securities.

Citibank India spokesperson said, “We recently initiated an investigation into a certain set of suspicious transactions based on documents forged by an employee involving a few accounts in our Gurgaon branch,” the spokesperson said. “Identified suspicious transactions have been isolated and we are providing full assistance to the authorities in their investigations.”

Read more: Banking system is safe: Pranab – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Banking-system-is-safe-Pranab/articleshow/7187869.cms#ixzz19Z7TvHux

Related:

400-crore bank fraud uncovered

New Delhi: A huge banking fraud has been uncovered at the Gurgaon branch of Citibank that saw a bank employee fraudulently diverting an estimated Rs.400 crore from 20 accounts of high-networth clients. Citibank has already lodged an FIR with the police and begun internal investigation into the fraud.

“We recently initiated an investigation into a certain set of suspicious transactions based on documents forged by an employee involving a few accounts in our Gurgaon branch,” a Citi India spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. According to sources, an employee, Shivaraj Puri, used to seek deposits from high-networth customers in lucrative schemes. However, he used to transfer the funds to some other accounts.

Funds amounting to Rs.400 crore belonging to about 20 customers, according to sources, were transferred to fictitious accounts.

The employee involved is suspected of selling investment products to clients claiming that these would generate unusually high returns.

It has been alleged that the employee also showed a forged notification of market regulator SEBI for garnering funds from customers.

http://hindu.com/2010/12/29/stories/2010122960310100.htm

The flagship branch that Citibank opened in New York’s Union Square today is a bit different from banks in its other locations.

Instead of picking up a paper brochure, patrons can use one of the six interactive sales walls with touchscreen capabilities to learn more about bank services. Instead of using deposit envelopes, they can use enhanced-image ATMs to deposit checks without them. And instead of waiting for business hours to speak with a customer service representative, customers can use a 24/7 video chat station in the ATM lobby.

The digital components of the 9,700-square-foot branch are based on technologies pioneered by Citibanks in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Some features of the new bank seem more suited for a cafe or a airport lounge than a bank. Customers can access free Wi-Fi (in a private seating lounge if they are Citigold customers), and “media walls” display news, weather, and information about Citibank. Atmosphere Proximity, Citi’s digital agency, also designed a chip with the bank’s social media team that accesses a special Foursquare feed. Whenever a certain amount of people check in to the branch, an “internal marketing screen” shows which users are inside the branch at that very moment.

http://mashable.com/2010/12/16/citibank-launches-bank-of-the-future-in-new-york/

How can one sure that the data is original,in the light of what has happened in India?

China flexes muscle,India watches.

Both China and India have their own perspectives and visions about their countries.China wants to strengthes its geopolitical presence in Asia by bridging ties with Pakistan, Myanmar,South Korea,Hongkong, Malaysia,Singapore,Indonesia etc, t0  register its presence to ward off US influence.

As China perceives India,rightly so,as US’s ally it is taking care to keep India out of balance by keeping it engaged with Pakistan,by openly supporting Pakistan as well as Myanmar;Srilanka ,playing the Tamil card(Tamils constitute a State in India).

It is also increasing its infrastructural projects in Pakistan occupied Kashmir,Myanmar,Sri Lanka and surface transport in Tibet as well

It is not a comforting thought to have India as a Security Council permanent member, as it perceives India to be closer to US,UK,France and Russia.

India, on the other hand, has to tackle Pakistan , Sri Lanka Myanmar,Nepal and Bangladesh in the immediate vicinity, apart from improving relations with Indonesia, Malaysia and the countries in Asia , including Japan and S.Korea.

Hence their visions do not match.

I sense the status quo shall continue and it may not escalate into a skirmish-basically posturing and sparring.

The exception to the cheery mood was the mid-December visit of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China. Mr. Wen did secure business deals, announce new trade goals and offer reassurances of friendly Chinese intentions. But the trip also underscored that many points of tension between the Asian giants — trade imbalances, their disputed border and the status of Kashmir — are growing worse. And the Indian foreign policy establishment, once reluctant to challenge China, is taking a harder line.

“The Wen visit has widened the gap publicly between India and China,” said Ranjit Gupta, a retired Indian diplomat and one of many vocal analysts pushing a more hawkish line toward China. “And it represents for the first time a greater realism in the Indian establishment’s approach to China.”

India aspires to membership on the United Nations Security Council, and China is now the only permanent member nation that has not explicitly endorsed such a move. But what has rattled Indian leaders even more is their contention that China is being deliberately provocative in Kashmir as it grows closer to Pakistan, China’s longtime ally and India’s nemesis. China has also been expanding its diplomatic and economic influence around South Asia, stepping up its involvement in the affairs of Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.

Mr. Wen’s visit was supposed to help address those tensions at a time when India is starting to draw closer to the United States. Among Chinese leaders, Mr. Wen is perceived as a friend of India, and his 2005 visit was regarded as a breakthrough after he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed on a broad framework to address the border dispute.

……

Meanwhile, China infuriated India by starting to issue special stapled paper visas — rather than the standard visa — for anyone in Indian-controlled Kashmir traveling to China on the grounds that Kashmir is a disputed territory. China later objected to including a top Indian general responsible for Kashmir in a military exchange in China. In response, Indian officials angrily suspended all military exchanges between the countries. Indian officials had thought Mr. Wen might reverse the stapled visas policy on his trip, but he instead only called for more diplomatic consultations.

Indian commentators have noticed that articles in the Chinese state-run media have renewed Chinese claims that the disputed border between the nations is roughly 1,240 miles in length — even as India puts the length at about 2,175 miles. The difference roughly represents the border between Indian-controlled Kashmir and Tibetan China. By omitting this section, the Chinese are questioning the status of Indian-controlled Kashmir, a position that buttresses Pakistan’s own claims, several Indian analysts have argued.

The most visible evidence that these problems were deepening came in the joint communiqué issued by the two nations at the end of Mr. Wen’s visit. China typically demands that nations voice support for the one-China policy, which holds that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. In past communiqués, India has agreed to such language, but this time it was omitted, a clear sign of Indian irritation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/world/asia/30india.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22

Bank of America hits Wikileaks.

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Things to hide and run away from?

After WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange revealed his plans to release damaging info on a major US bank, one lending institution sprung into action in an effort to protect itself.

That institution is Bank of America, the lending giant many believe Assange is planning to expose by leaking internal documents and e-mail.

 

So what is Bank of America doing? First, the bank has been snatching up hundreds of abusive domain names — which include the names of its senior execs and board members.

For example, Bank of America registered a slew of descriptive and insulting domain names for its CEO Brian Moynihan, including:

• BrianMoynihanBlows.com
• BrianMoynihanSucks.com, and
• BriandTMoynihanBlows.

In addition, the lender supposedly created its own “war room” to come up with a rebuttal strategy to what Assange will likely reveal.

Bank of America also cut off WikiLeaks payments processing — a move that prompted the website to warn Bank of America account holders to “place your funds somewhere safer.”

http://www.cfodailynews.com/how-one-banking-giant-is-responding-to-wikileaks-threat/

Related:

According to Domain Name Wire, the US bank has been aggressively registering domain names including its board of Directors‘ and senior executives’ names followed by “sucks” and “blows”.

For example, the company registered a number of domains for CEO Brian Moynihan:BrianMoynihanBlows.com, BrianMoynihanSucks.com, BrianTMoynihanBlows.com, and BrianTMoynihanSucks.com.

The wire report counted hundreds of such domain name registrations on 17 December alone. They were acquired through an intermediary that frequently registers domain names on behalf of large companies, says the report.

Bank of America has reputedly established a ‘war room’ to draw up strategy and rebutt [sic] allegations likely to emerge from the publication of thousands of internal documents by WikiLeaks.

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/b-grabs-domain-names-anticipation-wikileaks

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