Aam Aadmi Party leader Meera Sanyal on Tuesday maintained that her party has not indulged in money laundering, adding that India's banking system has made it nigh impossible to partake in such illegal activities.
"I have complete faith in our banking system, which is considered one of the best in the world. We have one of the finest central banks - the Reserve Bank of India and our anti-money laundering and KYC norms are among the best in the world. So it is extremely difficult if you say that money is coming through hawala and is coming through a bank: that is exactly why we have anti-money laundering laws," Sanyal told ANI.
"There are suspicious activity filters that every bank has to report to the reserve bank. For example, if you get cash deposits of more than Rs 50,000, you have to report it to the RBI. So if anyone is complaining that this is all hawala money, then the bank that has received it has to tell us what has happened," she added.
The former Royal Bank of Scotland (India) CEO and chairman further stated that all suspicious banking activity is monitored by the requisite directorates.
"If there is any concern that any money has been laundered, and we are actually interested in money laundered by terrorists, drug dealers, and so on, and this is an international concern. You have the Enforcement Directorate and the Economic Offences Wing, which report directly to the Ministry of Finance," Sanyal said.
The AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM) on Monday alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had indulged in a 'funding scam' and received four donations of Rs 50 lakh each from bogus companies.
The party, however, summarily dismissed the claims and called for an SIT probe into its funding, as well as the Congress and the BJP.