Fifteen members of India Against Corruption including Anjali Damania were detained briefly by the Mumbai Police on Saturday for staging a protest outside HSBC Bank here against its alleged money laundering transactions. Over 100 IAC members also protested outside the Ambanis’ residence ‘Sea wind’ at Cuffe Parade here, demanding a thorough probe into the charges levelled by social activist Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.
Mr. Kejriwal accused the Ambanis and some politicians of parking their unaccounted money in Swiss bank accounts through HSBC Bank which, he said, was running a hawala racket from here. The bank has since denied the allegations.
There was heavy police presence at the Ambanis’ residence. The IAC members shouted slogans demanding a thorough probe. “We will keep protesting till the government tells us about all 700 people who hold accounts with the bank,” Mayank Gandhi said.
Some protesters slept in front of police vans. The police did not detain anyone. The protesters dispersed later.
At the HSBC branch at Fountain here, nearly 15 activists protested, requesting people to close their accounts with the bank. “We detained 15 persons under the Bombay Police Act, and later released them,” a police officer at the Azad Maidan station told The Hindu .