7 held for converting old notes into new in Bengaluru
The Bengaluru Police on Tuesday arrested seven people, including a hawala operator, for converting demonetised notes into new currency. The police have also recovered ?93 lakh in new currency from the middlemen after multiple government agency raids. Further, the CBI has also registered cases against the officials of four Karnataka banks on charges of converting old notes into new ones.
Seven people, including a hawala operator, were arrested in Bengaluru today as part of a racket that converted black money in banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes into the new Rs 2000 currency notes.Rs 93 lakh in new currency was found with the middlemen after multiple government agencies raided them. One of the arrested has been identified as KV Virendra, who is believed to be running a casino in Goa. He was produced before a special court in Bengaluru which has sent him to six days of CBI custody for questioning.The CBI has also registered cases against the officials of four Karnataka banks - State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank - on charges of converting old notes with Rs 2000 notes.The CBI sources said that during preliminary probe, the names of several persons have been taken by Veerendra and it is trying to gather material evidence linking the alleged hawala operator with them. The seven accused are reported to be charging 15 to 35 per cent commission for their work from black money hoarders.Also read:Demonetisation the biggest scam of 2016: Former Finance Minister P ChidambaramBlack money crackdown: Rs 60 crore cash, 245 kg gold seized from 10 airports since demonetisationTamil Nadu: New notes worth Rs 24 crore seized in Vellore, total recovery rises to Rs 166 crore  