New Delhi. The Karnataka government has issued an order to suspend all transactions with the State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). Both banks are accused of misusing funds from government accounts.
Both these banks are owned by the central government. The Finance Department of the Karnataka government has directed all state departments to close their accounts in these banks and recover their deposits immediately.
The order said, “Accounts held by state government departments, public enterprises, corporations, local bodies, universities and other institutions in the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank should be terminated immediately. In addition, no further deposits or investments should be made in these banks.” This order has come at a time when there is a tug of war between the Congress and the BJP over the alleged money transfer scam involving the state-run Karnataka Maharishi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation Limited. Let us tell you that Congress is currently in power in Karnataka.
The alleged scam came to light after suicide
The corporation’s accounts superintendent Chandrasekhar P committed suicide on May 26 and left behind a note. The note claimed that ₹187 crore belonging to the corporation was transferred without approval. Of the total amount, ₹88.62 crore was diverted to the accounts of IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative society.
In the order, the state finance department mentioned an alleged fraud involving funds of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board. It is alleged that the money was withdrawn from Punjab National Bank accounts with the connivance of bank officials. The government said the matter is pending in courts and several crores of rupees are still not refunded.
Similarly, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had deposited money in SBI Bank, which was allegedly adjusted against a loan for a private company using forged documents in 2013. This case is also pending in court. The order said the process of closing accounts with both the banks and withdrawing the money should be completed by all departments by September 20 and the deputy secretary should be informed.
