Bank of Baroda is a well-known Indian multinational banking and financial services company. It was founded in the year 1908 and is headquartered in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, India. The bank has a vast network of branches and ATMs spread across the country as well as overseas. It is one of the leading banks in India, offering a wide range of banking products and services to its customers.
However, in recent years, Bank of Baroda has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In 2015, the bank was hit by a forex scam of massive proportions. The scam involved the illegal transfer of funds worth over Rs. 6,000 crore to Hong Kong and other overseas locations from the bank’s Ashok Vihar branch in Delhi. The scam was carried out by a group of people who used fake import bills to transfer the money overseas.
The mastermind behind the scam was a man named Ashok Vihar, who was then the head of the foreign exchange division of the bank. Vihar, along with several other bank officials, colluded with a few businessmen to carry out the scam. The businessmen would submit fake bills for the import of goods, and the bank officials would approve the transactions and transfer the money overseas. The entire operation was carried out under the guise of legitimate transactions, and it went undetected for several years.
The scam was eventually uncovered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2015, and a case was registered against Vihar and several other bank officials. The CBI also arrested a few businessmen who were involved in the scam. The case is still ongoing, and the accused are facing trial in court.
The Bank of Baroda forex scam was a massive blow to the bank’s reputation. It exposed the loopholes in the bank’s internal control systems and highlighted the need for stricter regulations in the banking industry. The scam also raised questions about the role of the bank’s top management in the entire affair. The bank’s then CEO, S. S. Mundra, had to face severe criticism for his handling of the scam.
In the aftermath of the scam, Bank of Baroda has taken several measures to strengthen its internal control systems and prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The bank has implemented stricter KYC (Know Your Customer) norms and has set up specialized teams to monitor international transactions. The bank has also introduced a whistle-blower policy, which encourages employees to report any suspicious activity.
In conclusion, the Bank of Baroda forex scam was a wake-up call for the banking industry in India. It exposed the vulnerabilities in the banking system and highlighted the need for stricter regulations and better internal control systems. While the scam was a massive blow to Bank of Baroda’s reputation, the bank has taken several corrective measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. The case is still ongoing, and it remains to be seen what the final outcome will be.
