ED arrests Kotak Mahindra Bank employee under PMLA

Kotak Mahindra Bank says 'zero tolerance' for such conduct, had suspended employee

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested the manager of a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch in connection with its money laundering probe upon detection of nine alleged fake accounts with deposits worth Rs 34 crore post demonetisation.

Officials said the agency arrested the manager of the bank's branch in the KG Marg area in New Delhi, identified as Ashish Kumar, late Tuesday night after questioning. “The manager has been arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and will be produced before the court for further custody,” they said.

Last week, two Kotak Mahindra Bank customers had been arrested for depositing Rs 34 crore.

 

The Kotak Bank spokesperson Rohit Rao said the bank had proactively informed the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the employee has already been suspended. “The bank has zero 

tolerance towards employees not adhering to its code of conduct, and takes strict measures against them,” he said.

The ED took on the case and registered it under PMLA laws after taking cognizance of Delhi police crime branch’s report in the said case.

The bank confirmed that it has a robust system of regularly and proactively filing necessary reports with the FIU for all large transactions. 

“The bank has on record all necessary know your customer documents, including PAN card,” added Rao.