KOCHI: A two-member team from the Reserve Bank of India’ Thiruvananthapuram office conducted a surprise inspection at the office of the North Paravur-based Gurudeva Trust on Wednesday following complaints of collecting deposits running into crores of rupees from the public in violation of an RBI Act and giving interest as high as 12 percent. The trust runs higher educational institutions, including the SNGIST engineering college.
Deccan Chronicle had reported on March 4 about the instances of educational trusts in the state collecting such deposits in violation of section 45 S of RBI Act 1934 which stipulates that “no person, being an individual or a firm or an unincorporated association of individuals shall accept any deposit.”
Trusts come under the definition of unincorporated association of individuals.
A senior Reserve Bank of India official confirmed to DC that such an inspection had taken place.
“The inspection team is yet to report back to Thiruvananthapuram office and we are not sure of the evidence they have. We have to find out what all financial offences have been committed by the trust and then only decide the nature of action and whether to refer them to the economic offences wing of the state police for action,” said the official. He also said that based on specific inputs only, the RBI would conduct raids on other trusts.
