The I-T department on Thursday raided Axis Bank's branch in Noida and unearthed 20 fake accounts that led to the recovery of approximately Rs 60 crore from those accounts. The latest crackdown follows a round of raids in various banks across the country after the note ban.
The fake accounts at the bank's Sector 51 Noida branch were created just to launder black money.
Earlier this month, Axis Bank's Kashmere Gate branch was raided by the I-T sleuths. Multiple accounts with huge amount of money were then found. The raid was conducted after two people were found with Rs 3.5 crore in new notes. The bank suspended 19 officials, including six from the Kashmere Gate branch.
On December 5, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested two Axis Bank managers in New Delhi in connection with a racket that was converting old currency notes into new ones.
In Kolkata, an Axis Bank deputy manager was arrested for allegedly converting black money into white through fake company accounts.
According to a Central Vigilance Commission report, at least three bank employees in public sector banks were fired and six were demoted every two days.
Search and seizures have resulted in unearthing of Rs. 300 crore in the past one month. The I-T department, the ED and the CBI have conducted raids in multiple places including banks and individuals' homes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on November 8 that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes will be illegal in a bid to fight corruption.
On December 14, in Bengaluru, Rs 2.5 crore was unearthed from an old lady's house. She had let her dogs attack I-T officials to fend them off from entering the house. In Delhi, Rs 3.25 crore was found packaged in boxes at a hotel.
