ED begins inquiry into Paytm bank

India's premier economic intelligence agency, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), has been roped in to check for suspected breaches at Paytm Payments Bank on a reference from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), two officials aware of the development said.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad & Subhash Narayan

The ED, which investigates money laundering and foreign exchange-related breaches, has started a preliminary inquiry into the affairs of the company.

It was yet to register an enforcement case information report as of Monday, one of the two officials cited above said.

For now, the ED and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are the only agencies looking into the issue. If any other agency's assistance is required, RBI can ask for it, but the government will not interfere, the person said. "The ED enquiry is to find the facts about the concerns raised by the RBI and to address any deficiency. There is no witch hunt," the person added.

The second official quoted above said that compliance breaches are matters that sectoral regulators deal with directly, not the government.

"This is a regulator's job and they are up to it. RBI has taken action in customer interest. ED has also sought documents on Paytm from RBI and is studying it for any violations. There is a mechanism of sharing of information among regulators, and information (on Paytm Payments Bank) has already been shared and different agencies are examining them," said the person.