EC seizes Rs570 crore in Tamil Nadu; State Bank of India claims cash

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Mumbai: After election officers seized Rs.570 crore in cash from three containers in poll-bound Tamil Nadu in the wee hours on Saturday, State Bank of India said this evening that it was the bank’s legitimate cash.

In a statement, SBI said its officials were ferrying Rs.570 crore after the Reserve Bank of India asked them to address a temporary cash shortage in Andhra Pradesh. “To address a temporary cash shortage in Andhra Pradesh, the RBI has authorised transfer of Rs 570 crore from our currency chest in Coimbatore main branch to our special currency administration branch in Visakhapatnam.

“As per RBI instructions, our Coimbatore main branch released the treasure to the authorised SBI personnel, duly escorted by a team of Andhra police. But the convoy carrying the cash was stopped by the EC officials enroute and brought to Tiruppur collectorate for further scrutiny,” the SBI statement said and termed the EC action as “erroneous.”

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