SFIO to probe 18 firms over suspicious transactions after demonetisation

Cash deposits over Rs 17,000 cr were made and later withdrawn post demonetisation by as many as 35,000 firms that were later deregistered

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) will probe at least 18 companies for alleged suspicious transactions involving huge amounts of money during demonetisation, a senior official said as the government continues its crackdown against illicit fund flows.

After striking off names of around 224,000 companies from the official records for being inactive for long and disqualifying more than 300,000 directors, the corporate affairs ministry is carrying out data mining to gather more details.

Against this backdrop, authorities have come across suspicious transactions involving huge amounts of money by some of the deregistered companies.

A senior official said the SFIO would