UCO Bank tanks 18 pc after CBI books ex-CMD in Rs 621-cr fraud case

New Delhi: Shares of UCO Bank plunged nearly 18 per cent in morning trade after the CBI booked Arun Kaul, former chairman-cum-managing director of the lender, and others in connection with an alleged Rs 621-crore loan fraud.

Shares of the company today opened at Rs 20, then lost further ground and fell to their 52-week low of Rs 19.15, down 14.31 per cent over its previous closing price. On NSE, the stock opened at Rs 20.60, then fell to its 52-week low of Rs 18.25, down 17.97 per cent over its last close.

On April 14, the CBI booked Kaul and others in connection with an alleged Rs 621-crore loan fraud which has caused a loss of over Rs 737 crore to the bank. Besides Kaul, the CBI booked Era Engineering Infra India Ltd (EEIL), its CMD Hem Singh Bharana, two chartered accountants -- Pankaj Jain and Vandna Sharda -- and Pawan Bansal of Altius Finserve Pvt. Ltd. among others, they said.

It is alleged that the accused persons in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy defrauded the UCO Bank to the tune of about Rs 621 crore by diversion and siphoning of the bank loans.

Kaul, who was the CMD of a Kolkata-based bank between 2010 and 2015, allegedly facilitated the accused company in obtaining the loan.