The CBI has registered a case against leading oncologist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Suresh Advani in its crackdown against black money. The investigative agency has accused Dr Advani and 5 others of fraudulently transporting demonetised notes worth Rs 10 crore in Mumbai.
Four of the accused are officials of the Vaidyanath Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd (VCUBL). The CBI has recently arrested three employees of the cooperative bank's Ghatkopar branch, who were carrying the defunct currency inside two gunny bags. They were caught at Chheda Nagar junction in Chembur.
On Friday, the CBI raided 11 premises of the Vaidhyanath Urban Co-operative Bank in Maharashtra after the money was recovered from bank employees. The banks are controlled by BJP MP Pritam Munde. Pankaja Munde, who is Maharashtra's Minister for Women and Child Development and Rural Development, is also on the bank’s Board of Directors.
Responding to the issue in a statement, the bank has said that it has done “nothing wrong”, but will co-operate with the investigation.
Pankaja Munde has absolved herself of any responsibility, saying that while she is a board member, “the board members and I are not directly involved in the routine transactions of the bank.”
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