BoB shares plunge nearly 8%

Mumbai: Shares of Bank of Baroda fell sharply by nearly 8 per cent today after the CBI carried out searches at three locations in New Delhi in connection with alleged Rs 6,000 crore remittances sent from BoB to Hong Kong camouflaged as payments for non-existent imports.

The stock tumbled 7.84 per cent to Rs 168 on the BSE. On the NSE, it plunged 7 per cent to Rs 169.30.
CBI teams had on Saturday carried out searches in connection with alleged Rs 6,000 crore remittances.

The agency searched Ashok Vihar branch of the bank besides residences of bank officers SK Garg, AGM and Jainish Dubey, Officer, Foreign Exchange.
The unusual remittances were spotted in the audit report of the bank, CBI sources had said.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of IPC and Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against 59 current account holders and unknown bank officials and private persons on a complaint from Bank of Baroda," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh had said.

The FIR alleged that "59 current account holders and unknown bank officials conspired to send overseas remittances, mostly to Hong Kong, of Foreign Exchange worth approximately Rs 6,000 crores in illegal and irregular manner in violation of established banking norms under the garb of payments towards suspected non-existent imports".

The BSE has sought clarification from Bank of Baroda with reference to the news.