'No money laundering probe on us or CEO': Paytm Payments Bank clears air on ED report

Paytm Payments Bank has clarified that the firm nor Vijay Shekhar Sharma, One97 CEO, were under enforcement directorate scrutiny for money laundering.

RBI had reportedly found hundreds of thousands of accounts at the bank created without proper identification. The central bank is concerned some of these accounts may have been used to launder money. "One 97 Communications Ltd and Paytm Payments Bank operate with the highest ethical standards. We can confirm that neither we nor OCL's founder-CEO have been the subject matter of investigation by the Enforcement Directorate regarding money laundering," a spokesperson for Paytm Payments Bank said.

The clarification comes after Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday said the enforcement directorate "will probe Paytm Payments Bank if any fresh charges of fund siphoning are found."

The spokesperson some merchants on its platforms have been the subject of inquiries, and the bank was fully cooperating with the authorities in such instances. "We categorically deny any involvement in money laundering activities and believe fair and responsible journalism is crucial for accurate information dissemination," the spokesperson added.

The Reserve Bank had earlier this week directed the lender to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29.

Paytm payments bank reportedly had lakhs of non-KYC (Know Your Customer) compliant accounts and in thousands of cases single PANs were used for opening multiple accounts.