The Congress on Monday questioned the Enforcement Directorate over the Reserve Bank of India's curbs on fintech firm Paytm.
“What is the Centre's stand on the issue. Why did the Paytm Payments Bank get a long rope since past seven years? The founder of Paytm Payments Bank is a bhakt of PM Modi, gets selfies with him and publishes ads in the PM's favour,” Congress leader Supriya Shrinate told ANI.
“PM Modi backs Paytm in his election rallies. Why do the agencies stay mum when allegations are levelled against PM Modi's associates? Why is ED silent?” she added.
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The Congress leader's remark comes amid Paytm denying that neither the parent company One97 Communications nor its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is facing probe by the ED.
"Neither the Company nor its founder and CEO are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate regarding inter alia money laundering. In the past, certain merchants/users on our platforms have been subject to enquiries and on those occasions, we have always cooperated with the authorities," Paytm said in a regulatory filing.
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"We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities. We have and continue to abide by Indian laws and take regulatory orders with utmost seriousness," the filing said.
According to a Bloomberg report, the RBI is considering the cancellation of operating license of Paytm Payments Bank as early as next month. The bank regulator could act after the February 29 deadline, after which the Paytm subsidiary cannot accept new deposits.
"We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities. We have and continue to abide by Indian laws and take regulatory orders with utmost seriousness," the filing said.
According to a Bloomberg report, the RBI is considering the cancellation of operating license of Paytm Payments Bank as early as next month. The bank regulator could act after the February 29 deadline, after which the Paytm subsidiary cannot accept new deposits.
People aware of the development told the agency that violations included alleged misuse of customer documentation rules and non-disclosure of material transactions.
It is alleged that hundreds and thousands of Paytm Payments Bank customers had not submitted their KYC documents and a single document was used to register thousands of customers in some cases.