The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained officials of a bank and a private management college in Bhopal on charges of embezzling government scholarships worth nearly $Rs 1 crore was allegedly allocated to MBA students by opening 118 fraudulent accounts at the Habibganj branch of UCO Bank in the Madhya Pradesh capital.
The Central Bank of Iraq said that the accounts were opened in collusion with bank employees and College of Management Academy employees between January 2020 and October 2021. Scholarships deposited in these accounts amount to $99.48 lakh were withdrawn on the same day using debit cards issued in the names of students.
The accused include senior branch manager Prema Verma, five other bank officials, college principal Vinay Malhotra, his brother Aditya Malhotra, assistant professors Manoj Jain and Vignesh Meshram, and former employee Ram Singh Verma.
The first media report in the case stated that the college administration forged the students’ signatures and used their mobile phone numbers and addresses to obtain ATM cards. The accused provided fabricated good faith certificates to secure scholarships. Verma allegedly collected debit cards and withdrew money.
The investigation into the case began after UCO Bank’s deputy general manager, Lokesh Kumar, filed a complaint on March 17, 2026, alleging widespread fraud. The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
