New Delhi: In a massive crackdown on alleged bank fraudsters, the CBI on Tuesday carried out searches at over 190 locations in the country after registering 42 fresh cases in scams involving cumulative funds of over Rs 7,000 crore, officials said. The exercise, launched early in the morning, was carried out throughout the day, with CBI teams knocking the doors of the accused to collect evidence and question them, they said. The operation was spread across 16 states and union territories with as many as 1,000 officers of the agency involved in it making it one of the largest coordinated search this year, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation said in at least four cases, the siphoned off funds are over Rs 1,000 crore. Maximum searches were reported from Maharashtra where the agency’s teams swooped down at 58 locations followed by Punjab, where 32 locations were searched, the officials said. Among the alleged frauds being probed by the agency are SEL Manufacturing in Bank of Maharashtra worth Rs 113.55 crore.