RBI official held for 'illegal exchange' of Rs 1.5cr

NEW DELHI: A central bank official is one of nine men arrested in Bengaluru by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), for allegedly exchangin g Rs 1.50 crore of banned currency notes Sources in the CBI identified the RBI official as K Michael, who the Central bank said is a junior level functionary.The other eight people, sources said, were middlemen who allegedly got money converted for a fee. Nearly Rs 1 crore was found in the raids that were conducted over the past few days. "They charged between 15% to 30% for conversion," a source said.The CBI unearthed this scam by having its officials pose as 'customers' looking to get old currency changed illegally , and after paying a commission as bribe to the alleged middlemen.Sources further said that one of the middlemen was related to a government official. No confirmation on who this official was immediately available.These arrests are the latest in a slew of arrests since November 8 - when demonetisation became effective - for money laundering or illegally exchanging currency.