Paytm Under Fire: After RBI Action, Fintech Firm To Face ED Probe If Fresh Money Laundering Charges Found

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently directed Paytm Payments Bank to halt fresh deposits in its accounts and popular wallet from March, raising concerns over persistent non-compliance.

However, the trouble for the fintech firm seems to be increasing as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is reportedly looking into initiating an investigation into Paytm Payments Bank if fresh charges of fund siphoning are established, according to Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra.

Revenue Secretary Malhotra said, "If there are any fresh charges of money laundering against Paytm by RBI, those will be investigated by Directorate of Enforcement as per the law of the land."

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As reported earlier, RBI is contemplating revoking Paytm Payments Bank's license as early as next month, over non compliance with earlier directives.

The move follows a history of warnings and concerns over questionable dealings between Paytm's payments app and its banking arm.

Meanwhile, Paytm founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, assured users that the popular app will continue to function as usual beyond the 29 February deadline mentioned in the RBI order.

While the RBI's action has sent shockwaves through the finance and tech industries, Paytm is trying to maintain normalcy for users, stating that the order does not impact existing user deposits in savings accounts, wallets, FASTags, and NCMC accounts.

The reports comes when the shares of Paytm were locked at 20 per cent lower circuit for the second consecutive day on 2 February.

Speaking on the matter, Minister for State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, "Being a FinTech or being a tech company doesn't absolve anybody from regulatory oversight."

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