ED questions Paytm officials, gets documents on RBI action: Report

The Enforcement Directorate questioned senior Paytm officials and had got documents from them following the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) action against Paytm Payments Bank, officials told PTI.

The central agency is conducting preliminary probe before deciding to formally launch an investigation into alleged irregularities under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

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The Paytm executives had submitted some documents, after which they were asked certain questions. As of now no irregularities were detected and a case under FEMA will be registered once any contravention under the said law is found.

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In a regulatory filing, Paytm had said,”One 97 Communications Limited (OCL), its subsidiaries and its associate, Paytm Payments Bank Limited, have over time been receiving notices and requisition for information, documents and explanations from the authorities, including Enforcement Directorate (ED), with respect to the customers that may have done business with the respective entities, and provided the required information, documents and explanations to the authorities.”

ED asked RBI to share report on action

The ED action comes days after the RBI said it will not review its action on Paytm Payments Bank. “At the moment let me say very clearly there is no review of this (PPBL) decision. If your are expecting a review of the decision, let me very clearly say there is (going to be) no review of the decision,” the central bank’s governor Shaktikanta Das said. The RBI had said that action against Payments Bank was taken due to its ‘persistent non-compliance’.

Earlier this month, ED and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had asked the RBI to share its report on the action against Paytm Payments Bank. The agency has been probing Paytm and other online wallets as part of its money laundering investigation against Chinese-controlled mobile phone apps who allegedly laundered funds using merchant IDs created on these fintech platforms.

(With agency inputs)