New Whistleblower Complaint Targets IndusInd Bank Over Insider Trading, Governance Lapses

A fresh whistleblower complaint has been filed against IndusInd Bank, alleging insider trading, governance failures and shortcomings in audit and forensic reviews, Economic Times (ET) reported.

The complaint has been submitted to the Prime Minister's Office, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), among other regulatory agencies. It was also sent to the bank at the end of May.

The development follows the discovery of around ₹2,000-crore derivatives accounting discrepancy at the bank in 2024.

The Allegations

The current complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by ET, names Samir Agarwal, former zonal head of eastern India at IndusInd Bank.

It alleges that Agarwal used confidential information obtained through his corporate banking responsibilities to facilitate share transactions by family members and related entities, generating gains of approximately ₹46 crore on trades worth nearly ₹815 crore, ahead of key public developments.

The complaint further alleges that family-linked trades totalled around ₹816 crore with gains exceeding ₹53 crore, a significant portion of which involved companies within his corporate loan portfolio.

In one cited instance, Agarwal's wife allegedly purchased over 3.4 million shares of Kesoram Industries, a company within his loan portfolio, prior to a major strategic transaction, resulting in gains of approximately ₹3.26 crore.

Beyond insider trading, the complaint also alleges manipulation of financial records, evergreening of microfinance loans, suppression of audit findings and attempts by senior management and board members to conceal irregularities.

IndusInd Bank, in its response to ET's queries, said it "rejects the assertions" made by the whistleblower. The bank stated that all concerns had been "duly examined" and "appropriate actions" taken in accordance with internal policies and regulatory requirements.

It added that it had proactively reported certain matters to the relevant authorities and would not comment further given that the matter is under review.

Shares of IndusInd Bank fell 2.76% in early trade on Wednesday following ET's report. The shares were changing hands at ₹887 on the BSE at 9:20 AM.

The complaint comes amid continued fallout from the 2024 discrepancy, which was formally disclosed to stock exchanges in early 2025.

The misclassified derivatives trades resulted in an adverse financial impact of nearly ₹1,960 crore in the January-March 2025 quarter. An independent forensic probe pointed to suspected internal fraud and governance failures, prompting the RBI to order a wider regulatory review and a management overhaul.

Notably, the lender's former MD & CEO Sumant Kathpalia, Deputy CEO Arun Khurana and CFO Gobind Jain also resigned in the wake of the scandal.