Hoard of old currency notes stumps police

Mediators in note exchange have RBI contacts, claim accused

In the last five days, more than 30 people have been arrested in three separate cases for trying to exchange ₹2.84 crore in demonetised currency notes of 1,000 and ₹500 with legal tender.

Though the accused persons have told the police that mediators who promised to facilitate the exchange have contacts with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), so far no links have been established by the police.

The question that arises from these cases is how the old currency will be exchanged, as the facility is currently not available with the RBI office in Hyderabad.

It can only be done at its offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur and Kolktata, stated the official.

“Our investigations have not come up with names of people from those cities as well,” he added.

RBI links

A highly placed source said that the angle of anyone having links with the RBI in this exchange has not been probed even by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Hyderabad so far.

“There will be an investigation by the agency if there is specific intelligence about it, or if the local police share information with us. However, so far, nothing has been established as of now,” informed the source.

According to the police official, those who hoarded demonetised currency till now are desperately trying to get rid of it as the last date to exchange it with other RBI offices is drawing close.

“But even they do not know who exactly will do it, or whether it can actually be done or not. They just want to exchange it at whatever rate they get,” he pointed out.

Last ditch attempt

So far, three cases have been registered with the Banjara Hills, Begumpet and S. R. Nagar police stations, wherein 15, 17 and three persons were arrested and a total of ₹2.84 crore have been seized from them by the police.

The official also said that as per the Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance, 2016 passed by the Centre, December 31 was the last day to deposit old currency notes in banks or exchange them with legal tender. There is a window till end of the month to deposit it into bank accounts. “It could be possible that those who were not able to deposit or exchange huge amounts before are making a last ditch attempt now,” he added.