MEERUT, Sept. 11 -- An outsourced bank worker earning around Rs.11,000 a month has emerged as a key focus of the investigation into the recovery of counterfeit Indian currency with a face value of Rs.17.29 crore from a Punjab National Bank (PNB) currency chest in Saharanpur, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) examining his reported assets, financial transactions and proximity to the suspended currency chest manager.

The worker, employed as a driver-loader at the currency chest, is reportedly linked to five houses, an SUV, a sedan and two motorcycles. Investigators are examining when the assets were acquired, in whose names they were registered and the source of funds used to purchase them.

The agencies have not established any...