Kochi: A few charitable trusts controlling educational institutions in the state are understood to be collecting crores of rupees as deposits from the public in violation of a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act. But the economic offences wing of the state police, which is supposed to take action on this count, is keeping mum.
According to a senior RBI official, the RBI cannot straightaway initiate action as the economic offences wing of the state police has to do it. Based on a specific complaint, the RBI has now written to the state government about the collection of such deposits by Gurudeva Trust in North Paravur in Ernakulam district, which runs higher educational institutions, including an engineering college.
Section 45 S of RBI Act 1934 stipulates that “no person, being an individual or a firm or an unincorporated association of individuals shall, accept any deposit.”
These trusts are unincorporated associations of individuals and hence not legally eligible to accept deposits. They are understood to be giving interest as high as 12 percent on such deposits.
The petition to the RBI also seeks action against the Gurudeva Trust office-bearers under section 45 T of RBI Act for collecting deposits up to Rs 20 crore in the guise of fixed loan and temporary loan from trust members and the public.
According to section 45 T of the RBI Act, the economic offences wing of the state police or the RBI can search the premises of such trusts by securing a search warrant from a court having jurisdiction to seize the documents secretly kept in this regard.
The RBI Act 58 B (5A) says, “if any person contravenes any provision of section 45S, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of deposit received by such person in contravention of that section, or two thousand rupees, whichever is more, or with both.”
