ED Not Conducting Any Probe Regarding Money Laundering After RBI Action, Says Paytm
ED Not Conducting Any Probe Regarding Money Laundering After RBI Action, Says Paytm
Paytm's parent company, One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), denied any reports of the Enforcement Directorate initiating an investigation against the company, its associates, or its founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The firm issued a clarification via a regulatory filing on sunday and refuted recent media reports claiming a probe into the firm regarding money laundering concerns after the RBI’s latest action against the company.
The fintech firm further said that it always cooperated with the authorities completely in the past, when users or merchants on its platforms were subjected to inquiries or probes. “We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities. We continue to abide by indian laws and take regulatory orders with utmost seriousness,” the statement read, reported business Standard.
The company urged the stakeholders to not depend on any unofficial sources and rather refer to the official press statement released by the banking regulator on january 31, 2024.
Notably, the central bank said last wednesday that it is barring the paytm Payments bank from accepting any further deposits of cash transactions or top-ups in customer accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags, wallets, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), etc, after february 29, 2024. It, however, didn’t restrict the bank from crediting any interest, cashback, or refunds. The RBI said that while customers will be allowed to use their remaining balance in the paytm wallet after the deadline, they will not be permitted to add any more amount to it after the end of February.
The regulator instructed the firm’s banking wing to stop accepting new customers, earlier in march 2022, citing alleged know-your-customer (KYC) violations.