Report: Cobrapost money-laundering sting on HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank
A Cobrapost pan-India undercover investigation spanning several months, unearths a vast, nation-wide money laundering racket being run by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. The brazen criminal activity by these banks is channelizing vast amounts of black money into the regular banking system as laundered white money.
Our investigation, conducted across dozens and dozens of branches of these banks and their insurance affiliates, across all five zones of the country, revealed these shocking facts:
That these money laundering practices are part of a standard set of procedures within these banks;
* These money laundering services are being openly offered to even walk-in customers who wish to launder their illicit money;
* A variety of options for laundering ill-gotten cash are being offered brazenly;
* These money laundering services are being offered practically as a standard product across the country.
This huge money-laundering racket being run by these banks has been captured by Cobrapost, on video-tape, running into hundreds of hours. The evidence is graphic, crystal-clear and clinching.
The investigation finds the banks and their managements systematically and deliberately violating several provisions of the Income Tax Act, FEMA, RBI regulations, KYC norms, the Banking Act and Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) with utter disregard to consequences, driven by their desire to boost cheap deposits and thereby increasing their profits.
It puts a big question mark on the legitimacy of these banks' deposits and therefore their profits. It also raises grave questions of the legitimacy and origins of funds being raised in their insurance and investment arms.
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