Axis Bank in fresh trouble with 20 fake accounts in its Noida branch
15 Dec 2016
Axis Bank, India's third-largest private sector lender, has invited fresh trouble with the Income Tax Department detecting 20 fake accounts held by a jeweller, who, according to reports, had sold gold biscuits worth Rs600 crore after demonetisation.
The I-T find comes after the bank fired 15 of its employees for involving themselves in money laundering activities along with middlemen and black money hoarders post-demonetisation.
I-T investigators had earlier found that a jeweller had sold gold biscuits worth Rs600 crore after demonetisation and has accounts in the same branch of the bank.
The jeweller has not been named by the I-T department, yet.
Axis Bank has been embroilled in controversies ever since the demonetisation drive began on 9 November, with several instances of its customers stashing away new currency and laundering old demonetised notes into new currency.
On Thursday an Income Tax raid at an axis Bank branch at Noida's sector 21 brought to light 20 fake companies with accounts with over Rs60 crore in them.
The image of the bank has already been tarnished by the recent incidents.
Two managers of Axis Bank were arrested on money laundering charges after Rs3.7 crore was found with three persons on 23 November 23 in front of the Kashmere Gate branch of Axis Bank, which consequently led to a raid at the bank. They were allegedly part of a larger racket, which was involved in the laundering of money by charging commission.
In this case, a gold bar was found by the Enforcement Directorate and government authorities carried out raids at the residences of the accused. Axis bank suspended the duo and condemned the incident and said that they were fully cooperating with the authorities.
In another case, I-T raids at Chandi Chowk branch of Axis bank on 8 December, found 44 decoy accounts, in which large sums of money were deposited in old notes post demonetisation.
Report said, approximately Rs100 crore was found in these suspected accounts and tax officials said that investigations are still on.
