The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted searches at 13 locations in West Bengal and Karnataka in connection with the suspicious Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transfers amounting to about ₹820 crore into the UCO Bank accounts last month.
According to the agency, the searches were carried out on the premises of the accused persons and some others, including private and bank officials. Electronic evidence in the form of mobile phones, laptops, computer systems, email archives, and debit/credit cards were seized during the operation.
The CBI has registered the case on a complaint from UCO Bank against its two Support Engineers and unknown persons on the allegation of suspicious IMPS transactions. As alleged, between November 10 and 13, 2023, IMPS inward transactions originating from 14,000 account holders across seven private banks were directed to 41,000 account holders within UCO Bank through the IMPS channel.
The intricate network involved a staggering 8,53,049 transactions and they were mistakenly posted in the UCO Bank account-holders’ records, despite the originating banks having registered failed transactions. Consequently, about ₹820 crore allegedly found its way into the UCO Bank accounts without proper debits from the originating banks’ account holders.
It was also alleged that several account holders exploited the situation and illegally withdrew funds from UCO Bank through various banking channels, thereby benefiting wrongfully.
After the glitch was detected, UCO Bank said it could recover about₹649 crore of the total amount credited “erroneously” to the accounts. It had also initiated the required measures to get back the rest. The Finance Ministry also took cognisance of the issue.
