Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday cracked down on District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCs) in the state, which have recorded huge cash deposits ranging between Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore, post-demonetisation, which was announced on November 8.
“The deposits range from Rs 60 crore in one co-operative bank to '100 and '200 crore in other DCCs,” said an officer. The ED officials visited DCC banks in Belagavi, Bagalkot, Mysuru and Kodagu for verification of accounts and account holders, who have remitted large amounts of cash into their cooperative bank accounts.
“The ED teams will also verify accounts in DCCs in Ballari, Mandya, Shivamogga, Kolar and Dakshin Kannada districts, which have recorded unprecedented cash deposits,” the officer said.
The Reserve Bank of India had stopped the DCCs from accepting cash in old currency after November 14 after they recorded unprecedented cash deposits in the first six days of demonetisation.
“It is possible that depositors felt that DCCs would go unnoticed because majority of them are in rural areas. The Directorate had earlier issued a notice to the Managing Director of Apex Bank to provide statements from October 1, 2016 to December 19, 2016. He has sent the initial reply to the notice. There are thousands of transactions which have to be sieved through,” he said.
The ED works closely with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its drive against corruption and money laundering, who have remitted their ill-gotten money in the banks to make it white.
ACB traps four
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths arrested four people, including a tout, in two different cases on Thursday under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
In the first case, Honnappa, a shirastedar from Devanahalli taluk office, was arrested for effecting land conversion for 19 guntas of agriculture land without proper documents.
False entry
Honnappa had falsely made an official entry in the column 11 of Record of rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) and it was revealed when a Right To Information (RTI) sought the answer.
The activist later lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Sensing the gravity of his fault, Honnappa offered to pay the activist Rs 50,000 to remain quiet. Hte ACB trapped him while he was giving the money to the activist.
In another incident, Suhad Ingale, tahsildar of Mudhol taluk, Prakash Kandagal, FDC, and Abdul Noor Ali Bidari, an assistant to the FDC, were arrested for demanding a commission from contractors to release the payment for supplying water.
Anti-Corruption Bureau sources said that different contractors were supplying water through tankers in summer in Mudhol taluk. The officials and Bidari were demanding seven per cent commission to get their payments.Following the complaint, all the three were arrested, said sources.
