Denying media reports, the Reserve Bank of India has said no permission was accorded to Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in India. RBI has also said that on verification they found that IDB has opened an office in Hyderabad without displaying a signboard and engaged in collecting application forms for scholarship to Muslim students.
The apex bank was responding to an RTI application filed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
RBI also said that they have contacted their counterparts in Saudi Arabia for information regarding Islamic Development Bank. Saudi Arabia’s monetary agency requested RBI to take up the matter directly with IDB, said the central bank.
The media had widely reported that Islamic Development Bank was going to open a branch in Gujarat and going to function according to the rules of Sharia.
“Incidentally on the basis of newspaper reporting on operation of IDB in India, our Hyderabad Regional Office had undertaken an incognito visit to the IDB’s office situated there. It was observed that the office had not displayed any board indicating name of the bank and was not undertaking any banking activities. They are acting as nodal agency of IDB in India for collecting application forms for scholarships to students to forward to Muslim Education Trust, New Delhi,” the RBI said.