NEW DELHI: The
CBI
on Wednesday conducted searches at 67 locations in seven cities across Rajasthan and Maharashtra in connection with
suspicious transactions
of Rs 820 crore from UCO bank branches. The transactions were conducted using the immediate payment service (IMPS) mode, officials said.
The agency had filed an FIR in November last year on the basis of a complaint received from UCO bank.
“It was alleged that in a span of three days IMPS transactions initiated from around 14,600
account holders
of seven
private banks
were wrongfully posted in the accounts of over 41,000 UCO bank account holders,” CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said. Sources said that around 8,53,049 IMPS transactions took place between November 10-13
This, officials said, resulted in Rs 820 crore being credited to UCO Bank accounts without actual debiting from the originating banks. Numerous account holders exploited this situation, making
wrongful gains
by withdrawing funds through various banking channels.
Earlier in December 2023, searches were conducted at 13 locations involving private individuals and UCO Bank officials in Kolkata and Mangalore. Continuing the operation, extensive
search operations
were carried out on March 6 in Jodhpur, Jaipur, Jalore, Nagaur, Barmer, Phalodi and Pune. “During these operations, 130 incriminating documents related to UCO Bank and IDFC, as well as 43 digital devices including 40 mobile phones, 2 hard disks, and 1 internet dongle were seized for forensic analysis. Additionally, 30 suspects were also examined on the spot,” the spokesperson added.
A total of 120 Rajasthan police personnel, including armed forces, were deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the search operations. Further, 210 personnel comprising 40 teams, including 130 CBI officials, and 80 independent witnesses from various departments were also involved in the operation, officials informed.
The searches were conducted on people who received the money and withdrew it rather than returning it to the bank, the CBI spokesperson added.