BENGALURU: The Bengaluru police on Thursday arrested a gang of three men including a cloth merchant for involvement in the conversion of black money for a commission. They also detained two bank staffers for interrogation in the case.
They recovered cash amounting to Rs 50 lakh including in new and banned currency. Two persons working in a nearby bank have also been detained.
The arrested men have been identified as Manoj Kumar Singh and two of his associates, both residents of Chikpet. The accused runs a textile shop near his residence.
Based on a tip-off, the Cottonpet police caught prime accused Manoj Kumar Singh and found that he approached many businessmen and realtors offering to convert their black money.
The majority of the currency notes seized from the were of the Rs 2000 denomination. Police strongly suspect that bank officials were involved in the racket. Manoj Kumar Singh was allegedly charging a 30 per cent commission for converting Rs 1 lakh of black money.
Singh told police that the cash he had was for disbursement of salaries to his employees. However, police said there were no documents or evidence to corroborate the claim.
Based on his information, the police detained two bank staffers for further interrogation. Police are yet to ascertain how he managed to get money from banks and whether he had contact with other persons.