In yet another untoward incident involving Axis Bank, the Income Tax department today carried out raids at the Noida sector 51 branch of Axis Bank and unearthed 20 accounts of allegedly fake companies with heavy deposits.
In its latest crackdown on black money hoarders and tax evaders, sleuths are reported to have found over Rs 60 crore deposited in the 20 alleged fake accounts post demonetisation.
According to the sources in IT department, most of the directors of these fake corporate accounts are small labourers.
The development comes amid reports of several irregularities at some branches of Axis Bank following the government’s move to demonetise high-value currency notes. It has been alleged that some officials of the bank connived with cash traders to exchange huge volumes of old currency into new notes in contravention of prescribed laws.
On December 9, the Income-Tax department discovered 44 fake bank accounts operating in the Chandni Chowk branch of Axis Bank in New Delhi. According to reports, a total of Rs 70 crore was allegedly found in these fake accounts.
Besides, the Income Tax department on November 25 raided the Kashmere Gate branch of Axis Bank in Delhi. The raids were conducted after two people were held with Rs 3.5 crore in new notes.
The bank managers reportedly took the commission in gold.
Reacting on this Shikha Sharma, MD and CEO of the bank, said: “We have had bad apples who have done things that are inconsistent with the code of Axis. We have taken the toughest action against such employees and will do so in every case of divergence from our code of conduct. We are embarrassed that this has happened.”
Meanwhile, Axis Bank had also suspended the bank accounts of some bullion dealers and jewellers as part of "enhanced due diligence" to stamp out any attempt to legalise unaccounted wealth following the demonetisation announced on November 8.
On December 12, the Reserve Bank of India denied rumours that it has initiated any action to cancel the banking licence of Axis Bank in the wake of recent irregularities in a few branches of the bank post demonetisation.
Responding to the numerous cases of irregularities at its branches, Axis Bank today said that it has "rigorous compliance procedures and has also gone ahead and applied all our analytic capability to identify accounts that might have exhibited suspicious activity since demonetization."
"We would like to add that the investigative agencies have identified some potentially suspect accounts for which the Bank had already filed STRs in the past with FIU- IND. Apart from this the Bank has also files additional STRs with FIU in this period proactively. We understand that the visit by the investigative agencies to our branches has been pursuant to the CTR’s & STRs filed by the Bank under the extant KYC & AML norms as applicable to the Bank," it said in a statement.
"The Bank has also taken the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending some of these accounts," the statement said.
"Axis Bank is committed to maintaining the strongest operational controls and has no tolerance for undesirable behaviours that circumvent laid out processes,” it added.
