Bank of Baroda is in deep, deep trouble! CBI, ED, SFIO all start probe into its Rs 6,100-cr black money transaction case

Apart from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has also initiated an investigation into the alleged Rs 6,100-crore money laundering case involving a Delhi branch of Bank of Baroda (BoB).

The SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organization under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to tackle white-collar crimes or frauds.

CBI and the ED have started investigating the case last week. It is alleged that Rs 6,172 crore black money was remitted from BoB to Hong Kong which was passed off as payments for non-existent imports like cashew, pulses and rice.

Moreover, it is also alleged that the amount was deposited in 59 accounts of the BoB's Ashok Vihar branch in New Delhi in cash as advance for import and the money was sent to some select companies in Hong Kong.

Till date, six people including two officials of BoB -- SK Garg and Jainish Dubey -- have been arrested in this case for criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Garg was AGM while Dubey headed the foreign exchange division at BoB's branch in Ashok Vihar.

Between May 2014 and June 2015, the Delhi branch opened 59 current accounts through which large foreign exchange remittances were done, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

A total of 5,853 outward foreign remittances aggregating $546.10 million (around Rs 3,500 crore) were made during this period via 38 current accounts to various overseas parties numbering some 400, mainly based in Hong Kong and one in the UAE.

The bank has admitted that the branch did not adhere to FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) guidelines.

(Image: Indiatimes)