Bank of Baroda forex scam: Slum dwellers made company directors?

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Slum dwellers in Delhi were made pseudo entrepreneurs in the illicit money remittance case involving public lender Bank of Baroda, a daily newspaper has said.

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As per a report in the Times of India, vegetable sellers, rikshaw pullers and even domestic maids were approached to become proxy company directors in the money transfer case.

It is alleged that Rs 6,172 crore black money was remitted from Bank of Baroda to Hong Kong camouflaged as payments for non-existent imports like cashew, pulses and rice.

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It is also alleged that amount was deposited in 59 accounts of the bank's Ashok Vihar branch (New Delhi) in cash as advance for import and the money was sent to some selected companies in Hong Kong.

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The branch opened 59 current accounts during the period May 2014 to June, 2016 through which large foreign exchange remittance were done. The TOI report said that “drivers, vendors etc were asked to just provide their voter ID cards, PAN cards for which they were offered Rs 10-15,000 per month.”

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On the basis those documents current accounts were opened in the BoB branch in the name of fake companies, the paper further said.

Both the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate are probing transactions.