The Enforcement Directorate is seeking information on international transactions from Paytm Payments Bank, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
This follows a previous report that said ED was investigating One 97 Communications, which operates Paytm, on suspicion of violation of foreign exchange rules.
Reuters quoted a source as saying that the ongoing probe is a preliminary examination. The financial crimes agency had earlier sought information from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding the beleaguered payments bank.
Queries sent to Paytm remained unanswered at the time of writing this article.
Last week, the Press Trust of India reported that the Indian government is scrutinising foreign direct investment (FDI) from China into Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL), another subsidiary of One97 Communications Ltd., PPSL reportedly has investments from Chinese firm Ant Group Co.
PPSL sought a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in November 2020 to operate as a payment aggregator. However, in November 2022, the RBI rejected PPSL’s application and instructed the company to reapply to comply with Press Note 3 under FDI rules.
Consequently, the company applied to the Indian government in December 2022 to report previous investments from One97 Communications Ltd as per the requirements of Press Note 3.
An inter-ministerial committee is currently reviewing investments from China in PPSL.
Press Note 3 mandates prior approval from the government for foreign investments in any sector from countries that share a land border with India, aimed at preventing opportunistic takeovers of domestic firms following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
