Bank Fraud Cases: CBI Flags Issue Of Pending Sanctions To Probe Bank Officials In Corruption Cases

New Delhi: The CBI has flagged issues of pending sanctions required to initiate probe and chargesheet bank officials in corruption and fraud cases, saying it was affecting the investigation and prosecution.

The issue came up during a meeting between senior officers of the CBI with the secretary, Department of Financial Services, Finance Ministry, senior officers of the ministry, banks and Chief Vigilance Officers (CVO) of the banks on Thursday.

The CBI has found that in several cases, the sanction to prosecute bank officials is denied by banks, resulting in the case losing approval under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the trial being shifted away from the special courts to regular courts.

It is mandatory for the CBI to seek sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before initiating a criminal investigation and under Section 19 of the Act before prosecution. The CBI also raised the issue of delay in furnishing documents by banks in cases of bank fraud, they said.

"During the day-long meeting, several issues viz. previous approval u/s 17A of PC Act, sanction for prosecution u/s 19 of PC Act, awaited documents, bank fraud complaints, one-time settlement (OTS) issues, recent court rulings and mule accounts related issues were discussed and deliberated. Various pending issues related to bank fraud cases were discussed. The agenda was to enhance the interdepartmental cooperation and expedite investigations pertaining to bank fraud cases," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

During the meeting, senior CBI officers met CVOs of banks where "bank-wise discussion" on pending issues took place, with the agency claiming to have resolved "most of the issues".

"A close coordination between the banks and CBI in terms of timely sharing of relied-upon documents was acknowledged. Further, efforts to streamline procedures and ensure proactive cooperation in matters related to obtaining previous approvals/sanctions for prosecution under Section 17A and Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, respectively, were also emphasised," the spokesperson said.

The meeting concluded with a consensus to maintain the current momentum of cooperation between CBI and public sector banks, she said.

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