SBI maintained that in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, no information was kept secret save account numbers and KYC.
In compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the State Bank of India provided the Election Commission with all relevant information regarding the electoral bonds on Thursday, including their unique numbers. On March 18, the Supreme Court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide full disclosure of all information pertaining to the electoral bonds under its custody. Five things will now be known about electoral bonds: the name of the party that encashed the bond, its denomination and unique number, the name of the purchaser, the last four digits of the political parties’ bank account number, and the denomination and quantity of bonds encashed.
The State Bank of India has already filed the purchasers’ information along with the total amount of funds received by each party separately.
Political parties’ full bank account numbers and KYC information are kept confidential to prevent account security breaches (cyber security). Similarly, in addition to the fact that such data is not fed into or compiled by the system, KYC details of customers are likewise kept private for security purposes. But, as the SBI stated in its submission to the Supreme Court, “they are not required for identifying the political parties.”
To avoid account security breaches, political parties maintain the confidentiality of their complete bank account numbers and KYC data (cyber security). Similarly, consumers’ KYC details are kept confidential for security reasons, in addition to the fact that such data is not entered into or collated by the system. In its statement to the Supreme Court, the SBI did clarify that “they are not required for identifying the political parties.”
The information previously made public indicates that Future Gaming and Hotel Services, which is owned by lottery king Santiago Martin, was the largest buyer of electoral bonds.
The names and contributions of donors have been included by ten recognized political parties: AAP, DMK, AIADMK, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Samajwadi Party, National Congress Party (NCP), and Janata Dal (United). Most other political parties have only offered a chronological breakdown of the bonds they encashed. The Samajwadi Party revealed in its declaration that it had received 10 bonds totaling ₹10 crore “by post (no name)” out of a total of donations worth ₹10.84 crore. San Beverages, A K Traders, K S Traders, B G Traders, A S Traders, and S K Traders were identified as donors for the remaining sum.
