CBI Urges Banks to Speed Up Fraud Case Sanctions

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) The CBI has urged banks to speed up the decision-making process on mandatory sanction needed from them for investigating and prosecuting their officials who are under suspicion in fraud cases referred to it.

The issue was raised during a coordination meeting between the CBI, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Union Finance Ministry and chief vigilance officers of public sector banks on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

"During the day-long meeting all pending matters pertaining to ongoing investigation and prosecution of the bank fraud cases being handled by CBI were discussed and several issues sorted out," the agency said in a statement.

The CBI needs sanction from the banks under 17 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to investigate and under 19 to prosecute their officials in connection with cases investigated by it.

The cases get weakened in case banks do not accord sanctions to investigate or prosecute suspect officers, sources said.

The delay in taking a decision also puts pressure on the CBI as the case cannot be taken to a logical conclusion till a decision on the sanction is communicated to it, they said.

This is a follow-up meeting after the high-level meeting held on January 30 this year between the Department of Financial Services, CBI and public sector banks in Mumbai.

The agenda was to enhance the interdepartmental cooperation and expedite investigations pertaining to bank fraud cases, the agency said in a statement.

During the meeting, detailed presentations were made by CBI and public sector banks on relevant operational issues with many aspects discussed and resolved.

"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 approvals/sanctions under Section 17A and Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act were also emphasized," it said.

During the meeting case-specific details were exchanged and deliberated on the way forward to expedite pending investigations, it said.

"Emphasis was laid on continuing structured engagement and institutional collaboration to overcome procedural bottlenecks, expedite investigations, resolve pending issues, and ensure timely completion of investigations," it said.