Corrupt bankers have been advised by finance Minister to investigate into charges leveled by Cobrapost .It will be foolish to expect a corrupt officer will accept the corruption of his subordinate. None of bankers have courage and neither willingness to say spade a spade.They will make all efforts to prove that Cobrapost exposure is false and meaningless.
Dy governor RBI already exonerated CMD of private banks and there is no doubt that he will give clean chit to CMDs of public sector banks. Because they give the logic that Cobrapost has exposed the fraudulent business model of banks which promotes black money and money laundering but has not proved that actual fraud has taken place.
RBI and MOF are still not ready to understand that there is much more black picture hidden in books of accounts of all banks and all companies. Black money is parked in all banks and every layman knows it very well.
Government accept it or not , the bitter truth is that all politicians and all companies including banks and insurance companies are indulged in unlawful and illegal activities to achieve various targets set by Government of India. Bank executives get promotion by achieving target through ill ways and means , and it is nothing but open secret.
It is a undeniable truth that 75 out of 100 successful Branch Heads , Regional heads, Zonal Heads, Circle heads and Bank Heads (CMD) are ready to accept black money to increase their deposit base and to achieve the target. They are ready to even spend some money (pay bribe out of bribe earned on sanction of loans or by debiting expenses or by personal salary ) to mobilise deposit from government department.
When majority of successful bankers use illegal means to acquire deposit and get promotion , how it can be expected these senior officers will honestly punish the real culprit. At best they will take action against a few officers whose face and name has figured in Video camera and in sting operation carried out by Cobrapost.
When majority of officers are birds of same feather, real action cannot be taken against real culprit who has propagated wrong business model and who have vitiated work culture.In fact a bank officer cannot get success in his life and cannot get promotion even in decades if he or she sticks to set rules and laws .
The bad culture is so deep rooted in the blood of so called successful bank executives that an officer is tempted to resort to accept even bad money to achieve the target and to grow in his or her career path. In fact all those officers who are sitting at key posts have resorted to bad means for mobilisation of deposits. It is undeniable bitter truth of banking at all level.
There are about one lac branches of banks all over the country, and in at least 50000 branches , officers apply all right or wrong methods to achieve the target fixed for deposits. Bad culture of deposit mobilisation is not new in banks, this bad culture has been continuing for decades and will be found in almost all branches of all banks.
Can government and RBI has capacity to inquire into conduct of all these ill-motivated officers who are selling all ethics to get quick promotion and to get large sum as incentives?
EVEN Chief Vigilance Officers or Chief Vigilance commissioners or CBI or team of auditors know the art of closing the files of corruption if they are assigned the task of investigation by bank management.
Auditors have been certifying the correctness of balance sheet of all companies but ninety percent of Balance sheets are manipulated and have got no relevance with real truth of accounts.
Majority of Ministers are facing corruption charges , they do not have time to look into or even peep into cobrapost exposure. They will very soon announce that banks are safe and there is no violation of KYC norms as they say there is no violation of norms set by RBI for income recognition and asset classification of banks. All senior officers and all ministers will exert their best efforts and leave no stone upturned to give clean chit to senior bankers by making some of junior level officers as scapegoat.
After all this in Indian culture . Give all protection to dishonest and punish or sideline all honest persons so that corrupt line of action may be continued for good and for ever and which helps in growth of personal wealth of all powerful officers and powerful politicians.
| Latest News 6th May 2013 Government Asks CMDS of Public Sector Banks and LIC to Initiate Immediate Action Against those Exposed by Cobrapost, Red Spider 2 Expose |
| In connection with Cobrapost, Red Spider 2 Expose that was released today morning, the Secretary, Department of Financial Services Shri Rajiv Takru has asked the Chairman cum Managing Directors (CMDs) of various Public Sector Banks (PSBs) Including Allahabad Bank. Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India ,Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, United Bank of India, Vijaya Bank, State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore, Indian Bank, Corporation Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, State Bank of Mysore as well as Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) of India for an immediate action as follows: (i) Any officer/employee of your bank/institution who clearly appears to be advising potential customers along lines that would be an infringement of the legal process/could facilitate money laundering/could defeat the KYC norms or the norms of due diligence prescribed by RBI and the law from time to time, may be placed under suspension with immediate effect pending inquiry. The bank may initiate a detailed scrutiny of such officer’s work and institute a special audit, if necessary, for this purpose. The inquiry must be initiated and completed expeditiously. (ii) In case where the behaviour and conduct of the officer / agent is not such as would attract point (i) above but fails to meet the standards of conduct and behaviour expected of an officer / employee / agent of a public sector institution and/or brings the institution or is likely to bring the institution into disrepute, such person may immediately be divested of their work / portfolio and advised to voluntarily proceed on leave while a detailed examination on the same lines as above is conducted. Beside compliance on above points, the Secretary, Financial Services has also asked for a detailed report on utmost priority with the name of the employee/designation and action taken. DSM/RS/ka |
May 06, 2013, 08.10 PM IST
Cobrapost 2: FinMin calls for action, banks to investigate
Moneycontrol Bureau
The second round of Cobrapost sting operation evoked immediate responses across the spectrum. Rajiv Takru secretary at the Department of Financial Services asked all state owned banks and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to initiate actions. At the same time, the State Bank of India(SBI) India's largest lender, assured of stern punishment if allegations involving select officials are proved.
"If KYC violations are detected, people would be severely punished," said Pratip Choudhuri, chairman SBI in New Delhi.
“If somebody puts big sum with us, we are obliged to see identify proof. However, we cannot ask whether that cash is taxed. That is for Income Tax department to see. We have a set up in Jaipur, which sees if the transaction is disproportionate to the scale of operations to the account, then it is reported to FIU.”
It is a normal practice for a branch manager to report any suspicious transaction to Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the government agency which reports the same to the Income Tax Department.
Choudhuri rubbished allegation that transaction were split under Rs 50,000 so that those were not detectable. Cobrapost, an investigative news website alleged that 23 financial institutions including giants like SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and others were involved in money laundering cases across India.
“Those (allegation) are too vague and generalized. Our system still captures small transactions. We have reported all to FIU. All transactions have been investigated. We are fully compliant with Money Laundering Act. We are holding meeting in Mumbai,” he said adding that the bank has not yet concluded on the alleged KYC violations.
Meanwhile, the ministry has started scrutinizing the video footage shown in the exposure. It has obtained copies of DVDs, allegedly contain what happened in the sting operation.
“We have immediately put three different senior officers on the job to watch these DVDs and prepare transcripts so that we know exactly what kind of transaction has taken place and with whom name wise, branch wise and transaction wise. At this moment we are not talking in terms of forensic examination of the DVDs,” he told CNBC TV18.
Two other large public sector lenders Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank separately issued press statements in the aftermath of Cobrapost revelations/allegations.
Both have initiated internal investigations. Banks exuded confidence of respective internal standards relating to anti-money laundering and KYC violations. However, in case of any deviation from established norms or guidelines, banks will act, press releases indicated.
Reliance Capital whose name also figured in the list of 23 institutions, has outright denied such allegations.
"We categorically deny the baseless allegations in relation to any involvement of the company in money-laundering by customers of our life insurance business. Reliance Life adheres to strict internal controls, processes and best practices and is in full compliance with the KYC norms and regulatory framework,” it said in a press release.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/cobrapost-2-finmin-calls-for-action-banks-to-investigate_865720.htmlCobrapost Expose 2: Banks, LIC face FinMin heat
Banks, insurance firms deny money laundering charge-Business Line
MUMBAI, MAY 6:
Banks and insurance companies charged with allegations of money laundering and violations of Know-your-customers (KYC) norms as part of investigations by online magazine, Cobrapost, have denied any such instances.
M. Narendra, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Overseas Bank said, “We have been inquiring two lower level officers who have been identified in this accusation (Cobrapost). However, no such instances or violations have occurred as claimed by Cobrapost.”
“Action can be taken once we identify any wrongdoings. Moreover, after this, we will reiterate the same guidelines across the bank branches,” the IOB chief said.
In its second expose, Cobrapost has said 23 banks, both private and public, and insurance companies are engaged in money laundering and KYC norms violations. These banks include State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India, among others.
K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, in a post-policy analysts’ call on Monday, said: “We are seeing how the banks are following up on the KYC norms. Based on this, we will issue showcause notices and action will be taken. However, we have verified and not found any irregularities. There are certain differences in the manner of reporting of KYC norms in banks. We need to strengthen KYC guidelines and respective departments have to take action,” Chakrabarty said.
D.D. Singla, General Manager, Bank of Baroda, said the bank was investigating into the matter and would take stern action in case of any deviation of guidelines.Private lenders Federal Bank and Development Credit Bank in their statements have said they have initiated investigations into the matter. Mid-sized lender YES Bank declined to comment.
INSURANCE COMPANIES
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority said in a statement that it is examining the matter and has asked the concerned insurance companies to file a report on the allegations based on which it will take appropriate action.
Bank of Baroda investigating Cobrapost allegations
MUMBAI, MAY 6:
Amid allegations of money laundering and Know-Your Customers (KYC) norms violations by Cobrapost, Bank of Baroda has said it was investigating into the matter and take stern action in case of any deviation of guidelines.
“We are in the process of investigating the whole event and we shall be able to comment on it after the facts are assessed,” said D D Singla, General Manager, Bank of Baroda.
Singla said, “As far as Know Your Customer(KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines in Bank’s operation are concerned Bank of Baroda has a robust mechanism in place and all operations are conducted with due diligence.”
He also said that individual action or instances of deviation from the bank’s philosophy and guidelines, if any, will be sternly dealt with as per our established procedure.
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