## Rs 100 crore in demonetised notes, hidden for conversion, seized in Kanpur ##

Since the government banned 500 and 1000-rupee notes, hundreds of crores of the demonetised currency have been channelled into the formal banking system, a large part of them illegally. (ANI Photo/Twitter)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Uttar Pradesh police have recovered demonetised notes worth about Rs 100 crore from an under-construction house in Kanpur in one of the biggest hauls since old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes were banned in November 2016.

An NIA official said the currency belonged to four-five “individuals or companies” including a prominent detergent-maker.

A builder from Sisamau led the team to the site where the currency was stocked, an UP police official said. The investigating agency suspects the cash was hidden with an intention of converting them into legal currency through illegal means.

“We got the information that huge amount of demonetised currency was being stored in an under construction house in the Swarup Nagar locality of Kanpur...Since there was no terror angle involved, the information was shared with the UP police and a joint raid was conducted,” said a senior NIA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Since the government banned 500 and 1000-rupee notes, hundreds of crores of the demonetised currency have been channelled into the formal banking system, a large part of them illegally.

According to RBI estimates, more than 99% of the demonetised notes have returned to the banks.

The Income Tax department has been informed about the recovery and asked to find out how the money was to be exchanged.

Earlier, the NIA had recovered Rs 36.34 crore in demonetised currency in Delhi in November last year.

(with inputs from Lucknow)