What steps has ED taken over allegations of money laundering against Paytm?: Congress

On Sunday, Paytm said that the ED is neither investigating One97 Communications, owner of Paytm brand, nor its Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma for money laundering.

New Delhi: Congress on Monday sought to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the line of fire over the Paytm episode, asking why the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is not investigating serious allegations of money laundering and whether it was due to the promoter's “links” with the former.

The party also asked whether the data of users of Paytm payments bank was safe and was not being shared with the BJP and Chinese investors.

Congress Social Media and Digital Platforms chairperson Supriya Shrinate told a press conference, "Why was Paytm payment bank given such a long relaxation despite so many violations? What steps has ED taken so far on serious allegations like money laundering?"

She said it was not the Opposition but the RBI which has flagged possibilities of money laundering. This is a company promoted by a person who is considered close to the Prime Minister and supported his initiatives like demonetisation and put up advertisements with Modi's picture, she said.

The RBI has ordered Paytm Payments Bank Ltd to not take any further deposits or conduct credit transactions or carry out top-ups on any customers accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets and cards for paying road tolls after February 29.

Paytm said the ED is neither investigating One97 Communications, promoter of Paytm, nor its Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

"Why is it that there is no probe against people who are associated with Modi, whether it is Adani or Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma? If they have found time to probe Opposition leaders, which form 95% of their cases, maybe they should also start looking at Paytm," Shrinate said.

Alleging that the ED has become a "frontal organisation" of the BJP and it would have probed Paytm if it had some links to the Opposition, she asked, "why was Paytm payment bank given such a long relaxation despite so many violations? What steps has ED taken so far on serious allegations like money laundering? How much did Paytm donate to the BJP and the PM Cares Fund. Is the ED satisfied by initiating 95 per cent of cases against political people? Is the data of Paytm consumers confidential or is it being shared with the BJP."

Shrinate claimed the RBI has inspected 35 crore Paytm wallets, out of which 31 crore wallets were found inactive. A single PAN card was found linked to thousands of accounts, she added.