Bank Whose Director Is Amit Shah Collected Rs 745 Crore Worth Old Notes During Demonetisation: RTI

Supported by

A District Co-operative bank, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah as one of its Directors, collected the highest number of demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes among all other co-operative banks, according to RTI replies received by a Mumbai activist.

The Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB) received a deposit of Rs 745.59 crore of the invalid notes after November 8, 2016. This entire money was deposited within five days of the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On “fears” that black money can be routed through co-operative banks, they were not allowed to take deposits of the demonetised currency after November 14.

Not Only Amit Shah, Cabinet Minister’s bank too

Amit Shah still continues to be the Director of the board, and he has been so for several years. He was also the bank’s chairman in 2000. ADCB’s total deposits on March 31, 2017, was Rs 5,050 crore and its net profit for 2016-17 was Rs 14.31 crore, as reported by The Wire.

Right after the Ahmedabad District Co-operative Bank, is Rajkot District Cooperative Bank, whose chairman Jayeshbhai Vitthalbhai Radadiya, a cabinet minister in Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s government. They collected Rs 693.19 crore worth of old currency. Rajkot is the hub of Gujarat politics. Narendra Modi was elected as a legislator from Rajkot in 2001.

These figures are much higher than apex Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Ltd, which got deposits of a mere Rs 1.11 crore.

“The amount of deposits made in the State Cooperative Banks (SCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) – revealed under RTI for the first time since demonetisation – are astounding,” Manoranjan S. Roy, the RTI activist who made the effort to get the information, told IANS, reported The Wire.

The RTI queries also revealed 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. This amount is more than half (52 per cent) of the total amount of old currencies of Rs 15.28 lakh crore deposited with the RBI.

Roy said it was a serious matter if only a few banks and their branches and a handful post offices accounted for over half the old currency notes.

“At this rate, serious questions arise about the actual collection of spiked notes through the remaining 14 mega-PSBs, besides rural-urban banks, private banks (like ICICI, HDFC and others), local cooperatives, Jankalyan Banks and credit cooperatives and other entities with banking licenses, the figures of which are not made available under RTI,” he said.

Also Read: SC Asks Gujarat Trial Court To Stop Proceeding On Defamation Case Filed By Jay Shah On The Wire

#PoweredByYou We bring you news and stories that are worth your attention! Stories that are relevant, reliable, contextual and unbiased. If you read us, watch us, and like what we do, then show us some love! Good journalism is expensive to produce and we have come this far only with your support. Keep encouraging independent media organisations and independent journalists. We always want to remain answerable to you and not to anyone else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured

Amplified by

P&G Shiksha

P&G Shiksha Turns 20 And These Stories Say It All

Amplified by

Isha Foundation

Sadhguru’s Meditation App ‘Miracle of Mind’ Hits 1 Million Downloads in 15 Hours, Surpassing ChatGPT’s Early Growth

Recent Stories

Denied Tree-Cutting Permit, Bihar Authorities Build ₹100 Crore Road Curving Around Trees

38 Hours After Ahmedabad Crash, Air India Boeing 777 Drops 900 Ft Post-Takeoff; DGCA Grounds Pilots, Launches Probe

Delhi Court Closes CBI Probe in JNU Student Najeeb Ahmed’s 2016 Disappearance; Mother Vows to Keep Fighting

Contributors

Writer : 
Editor : 
Creatives :