Delhi: ED arrests Kotak Mahindra Bank manager in money laundering case

Image Source : PTI Kotak Mahindra bank manager held

In a crackdown on bankers facilitating money launderers, the Enforcement Directorate today arrested manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank at Kasturba Gandhi Marg in the national capital in connection with Paras Mal Lodha and Rohit Tandon cases.

The Income Tax department carried out a search at the same branch last Thursday working on the leads exacted from some of the Axis Bank accounts that were under the scanner.

Income Tax department earlier seized Rs 39 Crore from at least nine fake accounts being operated under various names by one Ramesh Chand and Raj Kumar in Kotak Mahindra Bank's KG Marg branch in Central Delhi.

Kolkata-based businessman Paras Mal Lodha was arrested by the police on December 21 in Mumbai.

The agency arrested him in connection with conversion of more than Rs 25 crore of old notes to new notes in Shekhar Reddy and Rohit Tandon cases.

Earlier on Tuesday, a five members of Enforcement Directorate (ED) team conducted searches at the premises of properties of Lodha in Kolkata and Delhi in connection with a money laundering case probe in two high-profile black money cases, and said it seized some documents related to a purported Swiss bank account.

The ED officials said that the agency, apart from seizing some computer peripherals and other hardware, has also recovered some documents, purported to be of a Swiss bank account in the name of a women, who could be associated to Mr Lodha.

ED is understood to have confronted Mr Lodha with advocate Rohit Tandon of T and T law firm (in Delhi), who has been questioned in the same case more than once by the investigating officer (IO) of the case in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank has issued a media statement saying, “Kotak Mahindra Bank had proactively informed Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Bank has already suspended the services of its employee”.

“With reference to the ongoing investigation of the said accounts, Kotak Mahindra Bank had proactively informed Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Bank has already suspended the services of its employee Ashish Kumar,” Rohit Rao, spokesperson, Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

“The Bank has zero tolerance towards employees not adhering to its Code of Conduct, and takes strict measures against them. The Bank confirms that it has a robust system of regularly and proactively filing necessary reports with the FIU for all large transactions,” Rao said.