Income-Tax raids Axis Bank's Noida branch, seizes Rs 60 crore from 20 fake accounts

In a fresh raid conducted at the Axis Bank's Noida branch, the income tax department said it has unearthed deposits worth Rs 60 crore from twenty fake accounts.

A TOI report said these deposits were found in the accounts beloning to low-income workers and labourers.

The I-T department found these fake accounts after a jeweller sold gold of Rs 600 crore post the 8 November demonetisation announcement, and later deposited the money at the Noida branch, the TOI report added.

Today's fresh raid comes after the I-T department had conducted a raid at the bank's Chandni Chowk branch in New Delhi last week where they uncovered Rs 100 crore deposited in 44 fake accounts.

According to a News18 report, income tax department has also carried out raids at the bank's Connaught Place branch.

Recently, Axis Bank said it had suspended its 19 officials allegedly involved in illegal activity post demonetisation. The bank suspended 19 officials including 6 of Kashmere Gate branch of Delhi itself, Axis Bank executive director Rajesh Dahiya had said.

Earlier last week, the Enforcement Directorate arrested two Axis Bank managers in New Delhi and seized 3 kg gold bars in connection with its money laundering probe in a racket of illegally converting old notes in connivance with banking authorities.

The agency's probe till now, after it registered a criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on 30 November, found that huge monies were transferred through RTGS transfers to some shell companies including a case where the Director of such a firm was a "petty labourer."

The agency identified the two managers as Shobit Sinha and Vineet Gupta, working at Axis bank's Kashmere Gate branch, and said they were arrested late yesterday under the provisions of PMLA.

The case was first detected by the Delhi Police after it intercepted three people with cash of about Rs 3.7 crore in old notes, in front of the said Axis Bank branch last month, and the ED took cognisance of the police FIR to slap money laundering charges against the accused.

The Income Tax department too had carried out its action in this case and had surveyed the bank branch and later searched the residential premises of the duo.