CBI books UBI ex-CMD Archana Bhargava in disproportionate assets case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CB)I has registered a disproportionate assets case against former chairman and managing director of United Bank of India (UBI) Archana Bhargava. She has been accused of amassing assets worth over Rs3.6 crore allegedly disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The CBI has alleged that during her tenure at various banks in senior positions between 2004 and 2014, Bhargava amassed assets worth Rs4.89 crore and incurred an additional expenditure of Rs1.47 crore against her known income of Rs2.73 crore.

Doing a simple calculation (ie, total assets plus amount spend minus total income), the agency has pegged the alleged illegal assets at Rs3.63 crore, which is 133.23 per cent over and above her known sources of income.

Bhargava became a deputy general manager of Punjab National Bank in 2004 and general manager in 2008. She worked as executive director at Canara Bank from 1 April 2011 to 22 April 2013.

She joined United Bank of India on 23 April 2013 as chairman-cum-managing director, a position she held till 20 February 2014.

CBI traces the root of the present case to a previous corruption case registered against her in 2016 where the she was found to have 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 had recovered jewellery worth Rs2.85 crore and Rs10.50 lakh in cash from the bank lockers in her name and those of her family members.

In addition, deposits of Rs5.42 crore in her name and family members, Rs2.26 crore in her bank accounts, documents of two properties-a three storey bungalow at Noida and a flat at Vasant Kunj, New Delhi- and two properties in the name of her family members in Delhi and Mumbai, were found, the CBI had said after filing the corruption case in 2016.