After Kerala and West Bengal several co-op banks of Uttar Pradesh are being mentioned in connection with rampant cases of money laundering in the wake of demonetization. Probe have also been initiated in some of the complaints, say media reports.
Sources say several cooperative banks of the state opened the shutter of its branches as soon as the news of demonetization was announced at 8pm on 8th of November. The misdeed of depositing currencies of higher denominations was carried through the midnight, they add.
A source keeping close tabs on cooperative banks says Samajwadi Party leaders have converted thousands of crores of rupees of black money into white through cooperative banks spread across the state.
Media report says the Ghaziabad District Cooperative Bank (DCB) accepted deposits of about Rs 78 crore in scrapped currency though it had no permission to do so. District Magistrate Ghaziabad has reportedly ordered an enquiry.
A source was quoted saying this was in utter violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules barring cooperative banks from dealing in the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
However, DCB Ghaziabad has defended its action saying it was a routine business of a bank to accept deposits. The reports of other DCCBs such as Meerut are no different, adds the source.
Meanwhile, West Bengal cooperative minister has described the allegation of illegal money being deposited in branches of West Bengal state cooperative bank as untrue and a baseless rumor.
Opposition in West Bengal had alleged that chief minister Mamta Bannerjee and her close supporters have been busy laundering their black money through cooperative banks in the state.
On Wednesday Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that there is “no black money in cooperative banks” and everything was according to rules and regulations.
Addressing a meeting of representatives from the cooperative sector Vijayan said Kerala will toe RBI line in the matter.
Readers would recall that in the beginning co-op banks were allowed to participate in the note-exchange but when the reports of large scale bungling began to come to RBI, it asked co-op banks to stop the exchange operations leading to widespread protests from across the states.