Bank of Baroda case: 10 locations in NCR raided

The CBI on Sunday conducted searches at 10 locations in the National Capital Region (NCR) in connection with its investigations into the Rs 6,000-crore suspicious remittances case at a Bank of Baroda (BoB) branch in Delhi. Sources in the CBI said searches were conducted at the offices and residential premises of certain suspects. “It was found during the investigation that around 8,500 foreign remittance transactions were made from 59 bank accounts (approximately) of various firms/companies against import of goods and software from Hong Kong and Dubai. The investigation revealed further involvement of around 11 private persons/entities,” sources said.

Sources further said that about Rs 40 lakh in cash, rubber stamps of around 44 different companies, 15 PAN cards and various documents were recovered during the searches along with pen drives and hard drives. “In addition, currencies of China, the US, Europe, UAE, Nigeria, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka were also found. The documents are being scrutinised,” they said.

The CBI had registered a case against 59 current account holders and unknown bank officials and private persons on a complaint from Bank of Baroda.

“Accounts were allegedly opened either in fictitious names or in the names of persons who were employed in different companies. Forged and fake papers like PAN cards and voter IDs were allegedly used for opening the accounts in fictitious names,” sources said. “It was alleged that 59 current account holders and unknown bank officials conspired to send overseas remittances,” said a source.