Get To Know Archana Bhargava, Ex-United Bank MD Being Probed For Alleged Money Laundering

Raids were reportedly conducted at two properties belonging to Archana Bhargava, former Chairperson and Managing Director of the United Bank of India, in connection to a case of alleged disproportionate assets. The Delhi branch of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted these searches on the direction of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been investigating her alleged role in a money laundering case.

The First Information Report (FIR) by CBI against Bhargava makes mention of assets worth Rs 3.63 crore, which she has been accused of amassing. As per Business Standard, the search yielded "incriminating documents and electronic evidence" against Bhargava, as regards the money laundering case.

Who Is Archana Bhargava And Why Is She Being Investigated? 5 Things To Know

1. Archana Bhargava has previously been counted among the topmost women holding senior positions in India's banking sector. In her career, she has most prominently been associated with Punjab National Bank as manager, Canara Bank as Executive Director and with the United Bank of India in the capacity of Managing Director-cum-Chairperson.

2. Her tenure at Kolkata-based United Bank was supposed to last from 2013 to 2015. However, in 2014, she sought voluntary retirement, citing her health, and stepped down from her role as CMD. As per reports, she had been absent from meetings in the days leading up to her exit.

3. In 2016, CBI registered a case of corruption against Bhargava, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, for alleged crimes committed between 2004 and 2014 when she held senior positions in banks.

" abused her official position and obtained certain amounts for herself or for a New Delhi based private firm (owned by her husband and her son), from the companies to whom various credit facilities were granted by the banks, where she had worked," a CBI spokesperson had said.

4. Jewellery, cash and investments to the tune of Rs 10 crore had been recovered by the investigative agency at Bhargava and her family's properties at Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Kolkata and Howrah. The assets in her possession were said to reportedly be 133.23 percent beyond her known sources of income.

5. Bhargava is a gold-medal postgraduate from the prestigious Miranda House in New Delhi.