NAVI MUMBAI, April 15 -- A senior finance official at a Ghansoli MIDC-based company has allegedly misappropriated Rs.3.51 crore, with the fraud coming to light after vendors highlighted that their dues had not been paid. The accused, who served as the firm's head of finance, is currently absconding. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Navi Mumbai police has registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against him at Rabale MIDC police station. The fraud surfaced when several vendors informed the company that their payments had not been credited. Suspecting discrepancies, the company initiated an internal probe along with a forensic audit, which revealed large-scale financial manipulation. Investigations revealed that the accused had been diverting funds since July 2023 by tampering with bank account details in payment files. Instead of transferring money to legitimate vendors, he allegedly redirected the funds to his own account by modifying Excel sheets used for online banking transactions. To cover his tracks, he generated fake invoices in the names of reputed firms and submitted them for processing. He also allegedly misused the company's official credit card, transferring additional funds to a personal digital wallet. Even after being promoted and losing direct access to financial upload systems, the accused allegedly continued the fraud by using a colleague's login credentials, which he obtained under the pretext of work. During internal questioning, he reportedly admitted to part of the misappropriation and promised to repay the money. However, he returned only a small amount before going missing, leaving the company with losses exceeding Rs.3.5 crore....