CBI raids 67 locations in connection with Rs 820 Cr suspicious IMPS transactions in UCO bank accounts

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted raids at 67 locations in connection with suspicious IMPS transactions amounting to about Rs. 820 crore in multiple UCO Bank accounts.

As per the CBI statement, the raids were conducted in seven cities of Rajasthan and Maharashtra on a complaint registered by the UCO Bank on November 21, 2023.

It was alleged that between November 10 to November 13, 2023, IMPS inward 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.

This resulted in Rs. 820 crore being credited to UCO Bank accounts without actual debit from the originating banks, said the CBI.

The Investigation agency said numerous account holders have exploited this situation, making wrong 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.

During the raids, CBI said approximately 130 incriminating documents related to UCO Bank and IDFC, as well as 43 digital devices were seized for forensic analysis and additionally, 30 suspects were also found and examined on the spot.

It said, "A total of 120 Rajasthan Police personnel, including armed forces, were deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the search operations".