A case involving suspicious financial transactions has surfaced in Atrauli, Aligarh, where ₹11.55 crore was deposited into a woman's bank account over a period of nearly seven months. During an investigation based on a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) flagged by the Ministry of Finance and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), police alleged that the bank account was opened using a forged mandi licence and was subsequently used for high-value financial transactions.
₹11.55 Crore Flagged in Bank Records
According to the investigation, ₹11.55 crore was deposited into the bank account of Shanno, a resident of Mohalla Kassawan, between June 5 and December 21, 2024. Of this amount, ₹10.24 crore was transferred from her husband's firm, Al Sana Traders, while around ₹1.08 crore was received from other firms. The sheer scale of these transactions raised concerns after suspicious activity was flagged in the banking records, subsequently becoming part of an STR-based investigation into the account and the documents used to open it.
A Claimed Buffalo Trading Business
During questioning, Shanno told police that she and her husband were involved in purchasing buffaloes and selling them to meat factories. According to her statement, business proceeds were initially credited to her husband's bank account, and were later transferred to her account to improve their civil score. However, police said discrepancies emerged during verification of the documents and mandi records associated with the account.
The Mandi Licence That Didn't Add Up
Police examined the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents submitted for the bank account and found a licence purportedly issued by Dhanipur Mandi, showing an annual turnover of ₹49 lakh for the firm. The fact that transactions worth ₹11.55 crore had taken place in the account within just seven months became a key point of the investigation, a discrepancy so significant it demanded closer scrutiny of exactly what the documents were actually representing.
Mandi Records Show No Business Activity
Verification with the mandi administration raised further, serious questions over the authenticity and use of the licence. According to a written statement from the mandi secretary, no transactions had ever been recorded at the mandi against this licence, and no shop had even been allotted in the firm's name. Based on these findings, police suspect the mandi licence may have been used specifically to present the banking transactions as legitimate business activity, when the underlying business itself may not have genuinely existed at that scale.
The Gap Between Declared and Actual Turnover
The difference between the declared annual turnover of ₹49 lakh and the ₹11.55 crore deposited into the account within approximately seven months is now a major focus of the investigation. This kind of dramatic mismatch is precisely what thorough auditing services in India are designed to catch, systematically cross-checking declared business turnover against actual banking activity to expose exactly where the numbers stop lining up. The STR-based examination also indicated that these deposits were several times higher than prescribed transaction limits, adding further weight to the suspicious nature of the account activity.
Police said the investigation isn't limited to the movement of money through the account alone. The authenticity of the mandi licence, the declared turnover of the firm, and the substantial financial transactions recorded in the account are all being examined together.
Tracing Where the Money Actually Came From, and Went
Investigators are now trying to establish the actual source of the funds deposited into the account, and determine the purpose behind transfers from different firms. The alleged use of forged or incorrect documents, along with the complete money trail, are also being examined. Police are further investigating whether funds from this account were subsequently transferred to other bank accounts, and if so, who controlled those accounts.
More Than Just a Credit Score Boost?
At the preliminary stage, police suspect this matter may involve more than a simple attempt to improve a civil score. The significant difference between the declared annual turnover and the value of transactions, combined with the complete absence of business activity linked to the mandi licence, has become a major focus of the investigation. Investigators are expected to examine the firms involved, the purpose of individual transactions, and the documentation supporting the movement of these funds.
What Comes Next
Police have registered a case of cheating and other related offences against Shanno, wife of Shakeel, and the investigation remains ongoing. Police said all financial and documentary aspects of the case are being examined, and the exact source and destination of the funds, the role of the firms involved, and the possible extent of these alleged financial irregularities will become clearer as the investigation progresses.
FAQs
Q1. What triggered the investigation into this ₹11.55 crore case?
The case surfaced through a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) flagged by the Ministry of Finance and NCRB, after ₹11.55 crore was deposited into a bank account within just seven months.
Q2. What discrepancy did investigators find with the mandi licence?
The KYC document showed an annual turnover of ₹49 lakh for the firm, but the mandi administration confirmed no transactions had ever been recorded against the licence and no shop had been allotted in the firm's name.
Q3. What explanation did the account holder give for the transactions?
Shanno told police that the funds came from a buffalo trading business run with her husband, with proceeds transferred to her account to improve their civil score, though this claim did not align with the mandi verification findings.