Banking by govt staff under CVC lens now

New Delhi, July 25

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has started examining “suspicious” banking transactions of government employees to check corruption.

The first-of-its-kind initiative has been started under the aegis of Central Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary, who late last year got the anti-corruption watchdog included in the list of government agencies authorised to seek details from Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on dubious financial transactions.

The FIU is tasked with collecting, analysing and disseminating information related to financial transactions suspected to be involving blackmoney or proceeds of crime.

“CVC has been notified as an agency to receive Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) related to public servants from FIU. This has happened and CVC is getting inputs,” Chowdary said today.

STR is a transaction of Rs 10 lakh and above believed to be proceeds of crimes including that from black money.

Official sources said the probity watchdog is examining the inputs received from FIU. The main aim behind this exercise is to check the flow of proceeds through corrupt means and block all channels of routing black money through the banking system, they said.

The move assumes significance as CVC is also looking into cases of alleged corruption involving multi-national companies like confectionery giant Mondelez, manufacturer of Cadbury chocolates. The US-based retail giant Wal-Mart had also come under the scanner of the Commission amid allegations that it gave bribes to government officials to obtain customs clearances and permits to set up stores in India.

Both the firms have denied any wrong doings on their part. The examination of STR will help in checking instances of collusion between private persons and government employees while probing corruption cases, the sources said.

The FIU shares information with Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Investigation Agency, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and chief secretaries of state governments, among others.

The SC-appointed Special Investigation Team on black money is also one of the notified organisations which can seek information from FIU, an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council headed by the Finance Minister. — PTI