Former banker Archana Bhargava and her family have been given a clean chit by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case after no incriminating evidence was found in the agency’s probe. The CBI had alleged in its case filed in 2016, that Ms Bhargava abused her position and had obtained monetary benefits for Rank Mercantile Private Limited (RMPL), a company owned by her husband and their son, from Anil Dhirubhai Group of Companies, Delhi International Airport Limited, Punj Lloyd Limited, for which various loan facilities were given during her tenure. The CBI had flagged these transactions as “suspicious” and “quid pro quo” from companies that availed loan benefits from the banks headed by Ms Bhargava. The investigation found no incriminating material for any criminal offense. Archana Bhargava had sought voluntary retirement (VRS) in 2014 while heading the United Bank of India.
However, in 2022, a CBI court in Delhi rejected the closure report and ordered further probe into the corruption case and investigate the “questionable credit” of ₹ 1.15 crore in RMPL’s account from the shell company in Kolkata.
The CBI reached out to Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to investigate the transaction between RMPL and ADPL. The investigation found no incriminating material for any criminal offence.
CBI court in Delhi rejected the closure report and ordered further investigation into the corruption case related to Archana Bhargava, the former Chairman and Managing Director at United Bank of India (UBI), to probe the “questionable credit” of ₹1.15 crore in Rank Mercantile Private Limited’s account from a shell company in Kolkata. The CBI then sought the help of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to investigate the transaction between RMPL and ADPL. However, the investigation reportedly found no incriminating material for any criminal offence.
