Employee sneakily puts unemployed wife on payroll for over a decade, defrauds company of millions!

An astonishing case of financial crime has surfaced at ManpowerGroup Service Private Limited, a Delhi-based recruitment company. A long-term employee, Radhaballav Nath, allegedly devised a sneaky plan to deceive the company by fraudulently placing his unemployed wife on the payroll. This manipulation continued for more than a decade, resulting in massive losses amounting to crores for the firm.

In December last year, the company became suspicious of manipulated records and initiated an internal investigation.

The inquiry confirmed the fraudulent activity, leading the company to take decisive action. Last week, they filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Delhi Police, launching a further investigation into the matter.

Modus operandi of scheme

Nath, employed at ManpowerGroup since 2008, held the positions of Assistant Manager (Finance) and later Manager (Finance). He acted as a crucial link between the company's outside payroll vendor and various departments like HR and finance. With access to the monthly payroll and reimbursement data limited to only three officers, Nath took advantage of his position.

Every month, the payroll vendor would prepare the pay register based on data provided by Nath. This register would then pass through the Director (HR) and the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) for approval before being sent back to Nath for the final step of salary release to the bank.

It was at this final stage that Nath allegedly tampered with the data, surreptitiously inserting his wife's name, Sasmita Raul, and assigning her a salary amount.

He also manipulated his own salary figures. Once the manipulated payroll file was uploaded to the bank portal by Nath, all employees' salaries, including his wife's, were transferred accordingly.

Fraudulent transactions

Upon conducting an internal investigation, the company discovered that Nath had been uploading the manipulated payroll file using another employee's computer system. After completing the process, he would delete the file from the system to cover his tracks.

Following his suspension on 11 December, 2022, Nath was summoned before an internal committee to explain the discrepancies.

"Mr Radhaballav Nath was suspended on December 11, 2022, and an internal committee was constituted by ManpowerGroup, which sought his presence to explain the discrepancy noted in the team meeting dated December 8, 2022," the FIR said.

Confronted with the evidence, he confessed to illegally transferring ₹3.6 crore ($500,000) to his wife's bank account starting in 2012. Additionally, he admitted inflating his own salary and transferring ₹60 lakh (over $73,000) to his account over the years, leading to a total loss of ₹4.2 crores for the company.

Confession 

In his confession, Nath disclosed that he utilised the embezzled funds to acquire properties in Delhi, Jaipur, and his hometown in Odisha. He also invested in mutual funds and other financial schemes. During the internal investigation, ManpowerGroup confirmed that they had never employed Radhaballav Nath's wife in any capacity.