Officials say raids were conducted after irregularities in exchange of old notes detected
A few days after the Income Tax Department raided an Axis Bank branch in Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area, where 44 fake accounts with Rs 100 crore in them were found, it raided three more branches in the Delhi-NCR region on Thursday.
I-T officials said Thursday's raids were conducted after a series of irregularities in exchange of old notes were detected at three Axis Bank branches. The first raid at the Noida Sector-51 branch put the spotlight on the accounts of 20 fake companies, with over Rs 60 crores in them. Raids were also conducted at the Connaught Place branch in T Block as well as the Statesman House branch.
Soon after the central government's demonetization move, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested two bank managers for converting black money into white from the Kashmere Gate branch of the bank in New Delhi.
Rajiv Anand, ED, Axis Bank said, "It was not a raid but a visit by I-T department officials. About 150-200 suspicious transactions came to light before demonetization. In a month's time, these transactions increased to 1,500. Investigative agencies have identified potential suspect accounts for which the bank had already filed Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) in the past."
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch of Delhi police have registered four cases in connection with cash seizures in the Capital on Thursday. So far, the crime branch has seized Rs 17.66 crore.
The cases have been registered under sections of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Even though the crime branch was conducting the raids, the matter was transferred to the I-T department as they felt the seizures also required investigation.
"We deliberated about registering cases. Unless officers carry out a thorough investigation, including interrogating the people associated with black money, we will not be able to expose the criminal conspiracy at play," said an officer.
On November 24, police had apprehended two men from outside Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, who were allegedly carrying Rs 27 lakh in new currency notes which they received after exchanging old demonetized notes from agents in Mumbai.
In raid conducted on December 10, Rs 13.5 crore was seized from a law firm's office in southeast Delhi's GK-I area, of which Rs 2.6 crore was in new currency. The raid was carried out at the office of T&T law firm owned by Rohit Tandon, against whom the FIR has been registered.
On December 13, Delhi Police raided a hotel in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area on December 13 and recovered Rs 3.25 crore in demonetized notes from five men who worked for various hawala operators. The cash was being taken to Mumbai to be converted into white.
In another raid on December 13 at the villa of a real estate agent Sukhbir Shokeen in Chhawla area, police had recovered unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 64,84,000 in old and new currency and jewellery worth over Rs 1 crore.
Unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 64,84,000 was found. Out of it, Rs 11,34,000 was in the form of Rs 2,000 notes. Besides, jewellery valued at Rs 1,06,57,235 had been found at Shokeen's villa against whom the FIR has been lodged.
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