A smalltime chocolate vendor’s bank account in Andhra is under investigation by the Income Tax department after the officials found a bank transaction of Rs 18 crore having been processed in his account at the time of demonetisation last year.

C Kishore Lal, a 30-year-old chocolate vendor in Vijayawada, who goes door to door to sell chocolates, reportedly received an amount of Rs 18 crore which was deposited in his account from Mumbai on November 8. The money was then sent out to a few other accounts outside Vijayawada, till November 16.

According to Times of India, Kishore had opened an account in a Ahmedabad-based bank in Vijayawada.

There have been suspicious transactions to his account from Mumbai, however, Kishore claimed that he has nothing to do with the transactions in his account.

Kishore has also reportedly claimed that when he opened the bank account earlier, the bank manager had taken his signatures on various cheques for the bank loan he had applied.

There is a possibility of those cheques being used to withdraw the money, as deposit just require bank account number, however to withdraw money, one needs internet access to the account or cheques signed by the account holder, I-T officials point out.

“The transactions were made in collusion with the bank officials and we are examining the role played by the bank manager, who has now been transferred elsewhere. We are also tracking the accounts to which the money has gone,” an IT official told Deccan Chronicle.

The IT officials have also asked for CCTV footage from the bank to investigate further in the case.

A similar, case came into light in Tadipatri of Anantapur district in January this year, when a man received an SMS from his bank that Rs 1.84 crore had been credited into his savings bank account. K Srinivasulu Naidu, a resident of Komatikuntla in Putlur mandal had an account with the Andhra Bank branch in Tadipatri in Anantapur district.