Bankers under lens over money laundering

The CBI and ED are keeping a close eye on several bank accounts.
Shrimi Choudhary/Business Standard reports.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Employees of State-run and private sector banks have come under the finance ministry's scanner over alleged irregularities in converting old currency into new notes post the demonetisation drive.

The finance ministry has asked banks to look into the matter and submit a report to the ministry in this regard.

"We are receiving several complaints against bank officials and we are referring these cases to the concerned investigative agencies," a senior revenue official said on condition of anonymity.

When asked about this development and on bank officials' role in illegally changing demonetised currency into new notes, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said, "In every organisation there will be black sheep, so we are taking action against all those who are violating the norms and helping black money hoarders to convert old notes into new notes."

The move comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate cracked down on bank officials since the note ban to curb black money conversions into new notes.

The CBI on Tuesday, December 6, had registered a case against senior bank officials and two others in Bengaluru for allegedly violating rules to convert unaccounted money into new currency.

Last week, the ED arrested two managers of Axis Bank's Kashmiri Gate branch in New Delhi and recovered gold bars weighing more than 3 kg. Both were sent to ED custody till December 12.

In the case, the ED had alleged that both were involved in aiding black money transactions.

Post this, both agencies are keeping a close eye on several bank accounts of various people and traders who have made suspicious transactions during the period.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax department too had carried out action in this case, surveyed the bank branch and later searched the homes of the two bank officials.