Fintech giant Paytm refuted claims of a money laundering investigation against its parent company One97 Communications and its CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This statement comes in light of ED visits to various fintech firms, including Paytm, in September 2022, regarding investigations into merchants utilizing their platforms for potential money laundering activities.
Neither the Company nor its founder and CEO are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate regarding inter alia money laundering. In the past, certain merchants/users on our platforms have been subject to enquiries and on those occasions, we have always cooperated with the authorities, Paytm said in a regulatory filing.
The company said it has cooperated with the agencies during any investigations by the authorities on any set of merchants or users in the past. We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities. We have and continue to abide by Indian laws and take regulatory orders with utmost seriousness, the filing said.
The clarification follows controversy surrounding a recent RBI directive that restricted Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from accepting further deposits, conducting credit transactions, or carrying out top-ups on customer accounts for paying road tolls after February 29.
Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) is an affiliate of One97 Communications Limited (OCL), with OCL holding 49% of the paid-up share capital of PPBL, directly and through its subsidiary. Vijay Shekhar Sharma maintains a 51% stake in the bank.