Singh was an NAB employee at the time.
Three people are facing trial over an elaborate fraud scheme that allegedly saw them try to cheat National Australia Bank out of more than $21 million.
The scam was attempted using fake bank vouchers.
Monika Singh, Davendar Deo and Srinivas Naidu Chamakuri attended Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on June 4, 2024.
The trio pleaded not guilty to several fraud-related charges.
A jury was chosen for the trial, which will last two months.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Norrie said: “In terms of the crown case, it concerns allegations that the accused … engaged in various fraudulent activities.
“The majority of the counts on the indictment concern fraudulent activities which were directed towards National Australia Bank.”
Singh, Deo and Chamakuri have been charged with knowingly participating in a criminal group between September 2018 and October 2020 with the intention of defrauding NAB.
They are all on bail, with Chamakuri supported in court by his daughter on June 4.
Forty-two-year-old Singh and Chamakuri, aged 51, both face four counts of attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage.
They are accused of attempting to scam National Australia Bank in 2019 out of nearly $16.9 million by depositing internal suspense account vouchers from the bank without its authority.
Singh was an NAB employee at the time.
Singh is also charged with trying to defraud NAB of a further $4.8 million in this method along with 68-year-old Deo.
The pair also allegedly conspired to defraud iFRC Bank & Trust by using a fraudulent National Australia Bank (NAB) stand-by letter of credit valued at $50 million.
In addition, Deo is facing a separate charge for using identification information from another business to aid in the fraudulent activities.
Singh is also accused of attempting to defraud Volvo Trucks India by using fake bank guarantees purportedly issued by NAB.
She allegedly carried out this scam between May 2017 and April 2018.
At the time of their arrests, police alleged that one member “preyed on international students”, setting up accounts in their names to be used for money laundering.
Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, commander of the Financial Crimes Squad, said:
“Not only has this group attempted to steal money from hard-working Australians through fraudulent deposits, one of these individuals also preyed on international students by promising to help them obtain financial loans to fund their tuition.
“After using these students’ personal identification information to create new accounts, they were then allegedly used for money laundering – funnelling millions of dollars to avoid detection by law enforcement.”
After the selection process, the jury, consisting of seven men and eight women, received brief directions from Judge Donna Woodburne.
Mr Norrie is scheduled to begin his opening submissions on June 5, 2024.
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