Swamy for CBI probe into bank licence allotment

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramaniam Swamy has demanded a CBI-led probe into the grant of small finance bank licences by the Reserve Bank of India .

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr. Swamy sought action against RBI officials, including Governor Raghuram Rajan, alleging that 10 entities were granted “in-principle” approval by the central bank despite their not fulfilling the eligibility criteria.

Dr. Swamy contended that the RBI had “failed to perform the duty diligently” in granting these approvals and there seemed to be, “on the face of it, a malafide negligence.”

He also sought to link the grant of the licences to possible laundering of funds belonging to politicians and bureaucrats “friendly” to a former Finance Minister who still “dominate” high posts in the Ministry.

He said the guidelines for grant of licences were brazenly flouted.

“Therefore, these illegal approvals attract Section l3(1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption, Act (1988). The present Governor of RBI is thus answerable in a probe into this matter,” he said.

“You may, therefore, consider a probe by the CBI-led SIT (Special Investigation Team), and have RBI officials, including the Governor of RBI, interrogated for this scam,” he said.