Paytm constitutes advisory committee headed by former SEBI exec amid RBI curbs

The Board of One 97 Communications Limited, which owns Paytm, has formed a Group Advisory Committee chaired by former SEBI Chairman M Damodaran to bolster compliance and regulatory matters amid sanctions.

Other members of the committee are Mukund Manohar Chitale, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and Ramachandran Rajaraman, former Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Bank.

"The Company’s management is committed to drive sustainable business growth, while adhering to a regulatory and compliance framework," the Paytm parent said in a regulatory filing.

The development comes amid reports of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd's (PPBL) independent directors Manju Agarwal and Shinjini Kumar resigning from their positions.

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Employees Provident Fund has also advised its field officers to refrain from accepting claims associated with Paytm's banking arm. The social security organisation said the order will be effective from February 23.

The Reserve Bank of India imposed sanctions on PPBL last month, asking it to stop accepting all deposits from February 29.

During a press meeting after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this week, Deputy Governor Swaminathan J reasoned that the actions were due to "persistent non-compliance" with RBI's norms, especially regarding the KYC of its customers.

“This is supervisory action on a regulated entity for persistent non-compliance," said Swaminathan. "Such actions are invariably preceded by months, and at times, years of bilateral engagement where we not only point out deficiencies but provide more than adequate time to take corrective action.”

The bank is prohibited from accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, and FASTags after February 29.