The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested two Reserve Bank of India officials for unauthorised exchange of demonetised notes worth Rs 1.99 crore in Bengaluru. A CBI official told PTI that Senior Special Assistant Sadananda Naika and Special Assistant AK Kavin were booked under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. A special court in Bengaluru later sent them to four days of CBI custody.
CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said the duo along with other unidentified officials “fraudulently” gave away new notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 100 worth Rs 1.99 crore to RBI officials and others. “It is alleged that both the accused and other unknown officials of RBI, Bengaluru, entered in criminal conspiracy with unknown others,” she added. The officials allegedly did the exchange by violating the limits set by RBI.
This is the second time RBI employees have been arrested in Bengaluru. On December 13, the CBI had arrested a senior RBI official for allegedly laundering Rs 1.51 crore of demonetised currency. The investigators had also recovered Rs 16 lakh in the new notes from K Michael and his two accomplices.
The CBI and other investigative agencies have been carrying out raids following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Seven people in Karnataka were arrested after the Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 93 lakh in the new Rs 2,000 currency notes from them on December 12. Earlier, the Income Tax Department had seized Rs 106.52 crore in cash during raids at eight locations in Chennai, of which around Rs 10 crore was in the new Rs 2,000 notes. In a database of new currency seized, curated by public policy professional Meghnad S, nearly Rs 160 crore in the newly-issued bills seems to have been recovered in raids and arrests so far.
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