Border area ‘unusual’ cash deposits under security agencies’ scanner; discussed in NSS conference

The two-day conference was held in Delhi on August 24 and 25 and was attended by 850 officers from across the country, including the directors general of police (DGPs) of all border states.

Published on: Sep 3, 2026, 08:15:20 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan, New Delhi

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Large-scale unusual cash deposits in bank branches located near India’s border areas came under scrutiny at the National Security Strategies (NSS) Conference of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) last week, with Union home minister Amit Shah learnt to have directed security agencies to closely examine these transactions and keep a watch on such activity, highly placed officials told HT.

The two-day conference was held in Delhi on August 24 and 25 and was attended by 850 officers from across the country, including the directors general of police (DGPs) of all border states.

“A key issue that came up during the conference was large-scale, unusual cash deposits over a period of time in certain bank branches near border districts, much more than seen previously. There is a concern, and efforts are on to ascertain whether these deposits, as well as foreign remittances from bank branches near the borders, have any anti-India dimension,” said an officer familiar with the discussions, requesting anonymity.

Among the areas where intelligence agencies have been asked to maintain a close watch are India’s western border, West Bengal, Uttarakhand as well as the border states in the Northeast.

The officials declined to go into the specifics due to security reasons.

The development comes against the backdrop of a nationwide verification exercise launched by the Income Tax Department on August 18 to examine several foreign remittances. The exercise focused on shell entities, the people behind them and professionals who issued Form 15CB certificates for the remittances. Chartered accountants issue such certificates.

The department covered approximately 394 entities, including 117 located in states along India’s land borders, as well as 36 professionals. It found that entities making these remittances were either non-filers or were filing income-tax returns showing very small turnovers. Besides, there was no apparent correlation between their reported turnovers and the large amounts of money being remitted abroad, according to a second officer.

The parallel scrutiny of financial transactions in border areas has raised concerns among security agencies over whether such activity could be linked to networks operating against India’s security interests.

Earlier, in June this year, while chairing a meeting in Tripura to discuss border-related issues, Shah had said that ensuring financial discipline in the border districts is also the responsibility of the states. He had directed that collectors and GST officials be trained, and that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) conduct a survey on fake currency.

While calling for sharp vigilance on financial transactions along the borders, Shah said in June that authorities should keep an eye on the construction of big buildings, and the sale and purchase of properties. He further directed that an examination of the land records of the last five years should be conducted.

The NSS conference, according to officials, also discussed cybercrimes and best practices of states like Telangana in dealing with such crimes.

The home minister said at the conference that infiltrators pose a threat to the country’s security, economy and demographics.

“This country is not a dharamshala (charitable rest house); only citizens of the country have the right to live here,” Shah said on August 25.

Stressing that infiltrators pose a threat to the country’s “security, economy and demographics,” he said: “Over the past eight months, after visiting all states sharing land borders, we have shared a document outlining a four-pronged approach to border security with the states. Our goal is to make the country free of infiltrators in a very short period.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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