Recent revelations about a mind boggling amount of black money deposited in cooperative banks in Kerala are likely to dent the image of the cooperative sector in the state.
A drive launched by the Kerala division of income tax dept showed that cooperative banks in northern areas of the state had black money amounting to Rs. 30 thousand crore in their accounts.
IT sources say cooperative banks had refused to share details of those having black money in their accounts. The dept has unearthed a total amount of Rs 150 crore in the crackdown this fiscal, sources added.
The IT sources have warned of stern action if depositors in cooperative banks failed to provide information about the sources of their black money.
A source familiar with the cooperative banking scene in Kerala made a tongue-in cheek comment saying the amount of Indian black money kept in Swiss accounts is sure to pale in comparison to the amount of illegal money parked in Kerala’s cooperative banks.
