HDFC refutes charges of money laundering

HDFC refutes charges of money launderingPrivate sector lender HDFC on Tuesday refuted all the charges of money laundering, claiming that the bank did nothing wrong on its part.

A sing operation conducted by online investigative magazine cobrapost. com had purportedly exposed officials of three private lenders, viz. Axis, ICICI and HDFC, facilitating deposits of black money into various accounts and products to convert the money into white.

HDFC Bank executive director Paresh Sukthankar claimed that they carried out an internal audit but found no evidence of money laundering.

Defending the bank, Mr. Sukthankar said, "All of these have been categorical that in all the three cases, no transaction of the nature that has been alleged... has found to have taken place."

However, the bank has already suspended one of the employees shown in the sting operation footage. Sukthankar didn't rule out action against the other employees shown in the operation.

Meanwhile, HDFC Bank reported an impressive 30.1 per cent year-on-year increase in its net profit at Rs 1,889.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

The profitability was mainly supported by strong growth in the net interest income and lower provisions, which increased 20.6 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively.

Brokerage firm Dolat Capital maintained `accumulate' rating on the HDFC stock with a target price of Rs 720 a share.