NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : In a major crackdown on erring bank employees post demonetisation, as many as 27 senior officials of various public sector banks have been suspended and six others transferred. The move, according to authorities, was done to check corruption. The suspensions come amid reports of IT authorities conducting searches at various places.
“Some cases have come to notice of officials involved in carrying out transactions which were irregular and in violation of RBI’s instructions, the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Action has been taken in such cases and 27 officials of various public sector banks have been placed under suspension and six officials have been transferred to non-sensitive posts,” it said. It also cautioned that while all efforts are being made to facilitate genuine transactions, “illegalities will not be tolerated and appropriate action will be taken against individuals involved in irregular and unauthorised activities”.
Earlier, RBI had asked banks to take action against erring officials to ensure cash availability for customers thronging banks.
Meanwhile, banks in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are under scanner after IT unearthed over `152 worth illicit wealth owned by two senior Karnataka government officials and their associates. According to sources, notices have been issued to three banks in Erode and Bengaluru, two of which are reputed private banks with several branches.
IT officials suspect several others might have followed similar methods and converted large amounts of their black money by paying a commission. They suspect that most of these banks, which had facilitated such transactions to be either co-operative or private banks.