Dena Bank And Oriental Bank Of Commerce Under Forensic Audit

The finance ministry has brought into light an alleged fraud by public sector banks Dena Bank and Oriental bank of Commerce. There were reports that the Mumbai based branches of these banks have plundered funds to the tune of Rs 436 crore.

According to the reports, the government has ordered a forensic audit after referring the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Going by the record, this is the second time in last one month where there has been a similar case, where CBI arrested SK Jain, CMD of Syndicate bank for being involved in a similar scam.

A look back at the incident, Dena Bank employee mobilised fixed deposit of Rs 256.48 crore, from seven corporates and allegedly issued fake receipts to the company, suggests a report in a leading daily. While in case of Oriental Bank of Commerce, the report points out that, the branch manager accepted the fixed deposit of Rs 180 crore but did not create an account.

Due to the scam reports, the banking stocks are under heavy selling pressure. The stock prices of both the banks plunged on Wednesday 20th August, 2014. However, the stocks have recovered after both the banks clarified on the news item. "Bank has suspended the erring Branch Manager and transferred the staff of the concerned Branch", Dena bank clarified in a notification issued to BSE.