CBI conducts searches at 67 locations in Rajasthan, Maharashtra in UCO Bank IMPS scam

The CBI has conducted searches at 67 locations in seven cities of Rajasthan and Maharashtra in connection with the Rs 820-crore IMPS scam in UCO bank, officials said Thursday.

The case pertains to over 8,53,049 IMPS (Immediate Payment System) transactions that took place between November 10 and November 13 last year in the bank.

"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 debiting from the originating banks," the CBI Spokesperson said.

The searches in Rajasthan and Maharashtra on Wednesday focused on people who received the money and withdrew it rather than returning it to the bank, officials said. This is the second round of searches.

"Earlier in December 2023, searches were conducted at 13 locations involving private individuals and UCO Bank officials in Kolkata and Mangalore," the Spokesperson said.

Over 330 police personnel, including 120 from Rajasthan Police, in 40 teams and 80 independent witnesses were involved in the action spread across multiple cities including Jodhpur, Jaipur, Jalore, Nagaur, Barmer, Phalodi) and Pune (Maharashtra).

"During these operations, approximately 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 found and examined on the spot," the Spokesperson said.