Banking related frauds are on rise in India. The
intensity and number of such banking related crimes has also
increased a lot. This is an alarming situation where our regulatory
authorities must take immediate and stringent against the culprits.
For instance, ATM
frauds, Internet
banking frauds, online
banking frauds, RTGS
frauds, money laundering offences, etc are on in India. In
short, banking
frauds in India have increased and it is high time for the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take serious note of these criminal
activities that are duping Indian exchequer and bank customers of
millions of cash.
RBI has in the past imposed
penalties upon many banks for failure to comply with
various laws and regulations. RBI is also investigating the cyber
fraud happened at YES Bank. Media reports have mentioned
that ICICI,
HDFC and Axis banks were alleged to be indulging in money laundering
and benami transactions.
Keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue, the
finance
ministry and RBI are investigating money laundering accusations
against ICICI, HDFC and Axis bank. Meanwhile the accused
banks have also started their own investigations and departmental
proceedings. Many employees have been suspended till the report of
departmental enquiry would be out.
According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of law
firm Perry4Law
and leading techno legal expert of Asia, HDFC
and other Banks must follow Sound E-Discovery and Cyber Forensics
Procedure to avoid Legal Liability. While engaging in
Private Investigations, Banks must keep in mind that “Crucial
Evidence” is not tampered with or destroyed, opines Dalal.
The finance ministry and RBI must keep this crucial
aspect in mind as well as without sufficient evidence the guilt of
the accused cannot be established.
