Police probe alleged fraud at Bank of Baroda

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bank of Baroda said on Monday it had suspended two senior bank employees at one of its branches in Delhi as part of a police investigation into suspected money laundering involving some 60 billion rupees ($927 million).

Executive director B. B. Joshi told Reuters the bank, India's second largest state-run lender, does not expect any financial loss from to the alleged fraud, which police say involves 59 account holders and several bank officials.

In a statement on Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it had searched the offices of 50 companies as part of its probe into the case. Most of the money was sent to Hong Kong disguised as payments for imports, it added.

 

The police launched the probe at the bank's behest.

Bank of Baroda shares were trading at 174.55 rupees, down 4.2 percent by 0554 GMT, while the Nifty edged up about 0.1 percent. The stock had fallen as much as 7 percent in early trade on concerns the case would impact the bank.

($1 = 64.7550 rupees)

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Miral Fahmy)