ICICI Bank — Lapses by bank resulting in 1.5lacs withdrawn from joint account

Address: Branch at Juhu Scheme Mumbai 400049

Bank faked KYC of first A/c holder and alloed him to withdraw over Rs 1.48, 800, over several transaction. IT has admitted it lapses in KYC procedures, but refused to take the blame deficiencies in its system . enen the ombudsman closed the complaint quote" In connection with the complaint lodged, it is observed from the submissions and documents furnished by the bank that the complainant (joint account holder) alleges that his brother, the primary account holder, fraudulently withdrew ₹1, 48, 800 through ten cash transactions between September 2024 and April 2025 by forging his signature on cheques. Complainant’s brother verbally admitted to the forgery during a bank investigation on 02.03.2026, and reportedly confessed to police, but later submitted written confirmation claiming joint authorization. The bank could not verify signatures due to outdated specimen records (account opened in 2008) and lack of recent customer interactions, while procedural gaps in Re-KYC compliance are under internal review. A debit freeze was applied to the account on 16.01.2026, following the complaint, and the matter remains under police investigation. The bank maintains that all transactions were processed per standard procedures after signature verification against existing records, noting the dispute involves a known family member and is sub judice. It has referred the case to its Internal Ombudsman for resolution but declines compensation at this stage, citing the ongoing criminal investigation and absence of conclusive evidence of banking negligence. The bank asserts it will comply with any future directives from authorities while emphasizing that the disputed funds originated from fixed deposit closures and premature withdrawals executed under the joint account’s operational mandate. The Internal Ombudsman has also agreed with the stand of the bank. The complainant has been suitably advised by the bank vide email dated 16.03.2026. Since the complaint is already under police investigation and involves among others, examination of alleged forgery of signatures of the complainant, the complaint is being closed under Clause 16(2)(e) of the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021: 'requiring consideration of elaborate documentary and oral evidence and the proceedings before the Ombudsman are not appropriate for adjudication of such complaint.’ Please note that as per para 14(2) of RBIOS 2021, the proceedings before the Ombudsman are summary in nature. "unquote