CBI Books Former Chairman Of United Bank Of India In Disproportionate Assets Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked former chairman and managing Director of United Bank of India Archana Bhargava for amassing assets worth over Rs 3.6 crore allegedly disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The agency alleged that during her tenure at various banks in senior positions between 2004 and 2014, Bhargava amassed assets worth Rs 4.89 crore and incurred an additional expenditure of Rs 1.47 crore against the income of Rs 2.73 crore. In its first information report, the CBI pegged the alleged illegal assets at Rs 3.63 crore, which is 133 percent more than her known sources of income.

Bhargava became a deputy general manager of Punjab National Bank in 2004 and was moved up to the post of general manager in 2008. She worked as the executive director of Canara Bank between 2011 and 2013. She joined United Bank of India in 2013 as chairman and managing director, a position she held till February 20, 2014.

The root of the present case lies in a previous corruption case registered against her in 2016 where the CBI alleged that she obtained “certain amounts” for herself or for a private firm, owned by her husband and son, from the companies to which various credit facilities were extended by the banks where she had worked.

During the searches, the agency recovered jewellery worth Rs 2.85 crore and Rs 10.5 lakh cash from the bank lockers in her name and those of her family members.