Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said here that that it has now been established the amount belongs to SBI. But EC will not hand it over to the bank. The money will be with the Income Tax department till the probe by the tax authorities is over.
The State Bank of India had claimed the money belongs to it and it was being transferred from Coimbatore to Andhra Pradesh to address cash shortage in that state and as per RBI instructions.
A high-level committee, headed by Expenditure Observer, carried out a detailed inquiry with the State Bank of India officials for more than 12 hours, with regard to dispatch of the money, without valid documents and proper security.
The Bank had staked claim for the money, saying that it was transferred from Coimbatore main branch to its branches in Vishakhapatnam, where there was shortage of cash.