Citibank said on Saturday that it has begun working out a “fair compensation” for customers impacted by the alleged fraud committed by its relationship manager, Mr Shivraj Puri, at its Gurgaon branch.

The Gurgaon police have pegged the amount involved in the fraud at Rs 400 crore. Over 20 customers, including certain Hero Group entities and Mr Sanjeev Aggarwal, co-founder of Helion Investment Advisors, are said to be among the victims of the alleged fraud carried out by Mr Puri.

Citi's move to provide “fair compensation” to affected customers is being seen in industry circles as an effort to regain its trust among customers and other stakeholders. The Gurgaon branch fraud has dented Citi's image, with one of the victims (of the fraud) even alleging systemic failure within the bank.

Citi said in a statement on Saturday that the bank was committed to safeguarding its customers' “legitimate interests”. It has been in contact with the impacted customers since the matter was reported to law enforcement and regulatory authorities, the bank has said.

“During this interim period, we have been reconciling amounts involved with impacted customers and are now commencing the process of working towards a fair compensation for them,” said the Citi statement.

It, however, did not spell out a timeframe by when the compensation process was likely to be completed. “This process will happen over a period of time,” the statement said.

According to the proposed arrangement, Citi will compensate affected customers. However, any money recovered (against the affected customer concerned) post the investigations will be taken to Citi's books of account, sources privy to the developments said.

Citibank has also assured its continued support to the investigating authorities until this matter was resolved and brought to its logical conclusion.

krsrivats@thehindu.co.in

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