BENGALURU: In yet another case of illegal conversion of old demonetised notes, an RBI official from Bengaluru and two others were arrested for laundering Rs 1.51 crore.
The money was seized by the police.
The arrested has been identified as Michael K, senior special assistant deputed at Reserve Bank of India, Bengaluru.
Michael, who was with the Issue Department, had allegedly converted Rs six lakh for his friend, without furnishing proper documents.
According to CBI sources, the lead regarding the role of Michael, came from Parashivamurthy, senior cashier of the State Bank of Mysore (SBM), Kollegala branch in Chamarajanagar district. CBI had filed an FIR against Parashivamurthy for allegedly converting Rs 1.51 crore by violating guidelines issued post demonetisation.
While questioning, he revealed the role of the RBI official in the racket. Parashivamurthy had access to large amounts of cash, as SBM branch of Kollegala is functioning as the currency chest for nearby branches of the bank.
The CBI source said that Micheal had gone to Kollegala on November 8, to refill currency for the chest. As soon as demonetisation was announced, Micheal received a call from his friend who sought help to exchange money with the old notes.
Without wasting a minute, Michael asked him to bring Rs six lakh of cash in old notes and exchanged it for Rs 100 denominations. The exchange allegedly happened inside the bank under the supervision of Parashivamurthy without proper documentation.