NEW DELHI: The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau under the Finance Ministry along with other officials conducted pan India sting operations in PSU bank branches to detect illegal exchange of demonetized notes and money laundering.
Sources said officials were sent to various banks in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, and states such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, as decoy customers asking bank officials to convert or give new currency note. Details of these operations have been handed over to the Prime Minister’s office and Finance ministry, sources said.
“Whole procedure was initiated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed concern about the reason why queues were not ending and people are not getting money. Also, the government was worried about huge seizures in the form of new currency during raids,” a senior government official said.
“Nearly, 500 bank branches of all public and private sector banks have been covered and a detailed report was given to PMO and finance ministry," officials added.
The government is planning to take action against banks apart from individual officers involved in illicit exchange of notes.
The move came two weeks after the government decided to trap bank officials involved in illegally distributing new currency to people trying to convert black money.