NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case of corruption on Thursday against former chairman-cum-managing director of United Bank of India Archana Bhargava and two companies. The agency carried out raids at her place and recovered cash, jewellery and investment to the tune of over Rs 10 crore.
A senior CBI officer said investment to the tune of over Rs 10 crore was allegedly in her and her family members’ names.
“It was alleged that the then public servant, while she was posted as ED of Canara Bank in 2011 and as CMD of United Bank of India in 2013, had abused her official position and obtained certain amounts for herself or for a New Delhi-based private firm — owned by her husband and son — from the companies to whom various credit facilities were granted by the banks where she worked,” the officer said.
The raids were conducted at the residential premises of accused persons in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata and Howrah and led to the recovery of jewellery worth Rs 2.85 crore and Rs 10.50 lakh cash from bank lockers in Archana and her family members’ names.
In addition, deposits of Rs 5.42 crore in her and her family members’ names, Rs 2.26 crore in her bank accounts, documents of two properties — a three-storey bungalow in Noida and a flat at Vasant Kunj, New Delhi — and two properties in the name of her family members in Delhi and Mumbai were also recovered.
The officer further stated that investigation in still on.
Bhargava took voluntary retirement in 2014 after her short stint in United Bank of India. She was appointed chief of the state-run lender on April 23, 2013, and was supposed to be in charge until February 28, 2015. Prior to this appointment, she was one of the executive directors in Canara Bank.
A postgraduate gold medallist from Miranda House in Delhi University, Bhargava started her career with Punjab National Bank, where she joined as a management trainee in 1977. At PNB, she worked in various key areas, including large corporate credit, priority sector, planning and development and financial inclusion. At UBI, she announced an ambitious plan of expanding its presence in seven or eight new countries.