Shares of One97 Communications, owner of the Paytm brand, fell another 3 per cent amid reports that with less than two weeks to go for Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) to cease operations, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may take the unprecedented step of revoking its banking licence.
If the RBI ends up revoking PPBL’s licence, it would be the first time in over two decades that the banking regulator would take such an action.
The RBI, on January 31, imposed business restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, including a bar on accepting fresh deposits and doing credit transactions after March 15. The regulator found major irregularities in KYC, which exposed the customers, depositors and wallet holders to serious risks. The stock has taken a steep hit since the RBI crackdown.
Shares of One97 Communications are trading 10.60 points, or 2.56 per cent lower at 403.85 per equity share. During Friday’s trading session, Paytm opened at Rs 424.05 and closed at Rs 425.45, with a high of Rs 430 and a low of Rs 410.05. The 52-week high for Paytm was Rs 998.3 while the 52-week low was Rs 318.35.
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Earlier, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) had imposed a penalty of Rs 5.49 crore on PPBL for violating rules under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“The money generated from these illegal operations, that is, the proceeds of crime were routed and channelled through bank accounts maintained by these entities with the Paytm Payments Bank,” the ministry statement said.
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The controversy has forced Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma to resign as part-time non-executive chairman and board member of the payments bank. Sharma owns 51 per cent in the payments’ bank, while One97 Communications owns 49 per cent. The moves came ahead of the RBI’s March 15 deadline for PPBL to wind up its operations.
Paytm has been on the radar of RBI since 2018 for regulatory violations.
