Bank with Amit Shah on board got maximum banned notes

In a development that would have political overtones, a district co-operative bank – in which BJP President Amit Shah is a Director - has seen the maximum deposits of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes post demonetisation.

The Ahmedabad District Co-operative Bank (ADCB) collected 745.59 crore in a matter of five days after November 8, 2016, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation. The DCBs were barred from receiving the banned notes through a notification on November 14, 2016.

This information was gathered by Mumbai-based RTI activist Manoranjan Roy under the Right to Information Act, according to an agency report. The number of deposits made in the State Co-operative Banks (SCBs) and District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs) was revealed by the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD).

NABARD’s Chief General Manager and Appellate Authority, S Saravanavel, said after the ADCB is the Rajkot District Co-operative Bank, whose chairman Jayeshbhai Vitthalbhai Radadiya, is a cabinet rank minister in Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's government. The bank got deposits of banned notes worth Rs 693.19 crore.

According to the agency report, it has also come to light, through RTI queries, that only seven public sector banks (PSBs), 32 SCBs, 370 DCCBs, and a little over three dozen post offices across India collected Rs 7.91 lakh crore -- more than half (52 per cent) of the total amount of old currencies of Rs 15.28 lakh crore deposited with the RBI.
NABARD clarifies

Meanwhile, NABARD in a statement said that it conducted 100% verification in Ahmedabad DCCB, which revealed that the bank had complied with all the KYC guidelines of the RBI while accepting the demonetised notes. As per the verification report of NABARD, required under the extant guidelines, the bank had also submitted the required Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) and STRs to FlU-India wherever required.

The average amount of demonetised notes deposited by the customers of the bank has been lower than that of other banks. “Based on the satisfactory verification of demonetised notes held by DCCBs concerned across India, including Ahmedabad and Rajkot, RBI accepted the demonetised notes held by these DCCBs. The RBI gave necessary credit in the accounts of DCCBs concerned,” the statement said.