On Thursday, the State Bank of India complied with the Supreme Court’s order by submitting thorough information regarding electoral bonds, including their unique identification numbers, to the Election Commission.
On March 18, the Supreme Court instructed the State Bank of India to fully disclose all details of the electoral bonds under its possession.
As a result, five key pieces of information will now be accessible regarding electoral bonds: the purchaser’s name, the bond’s denomination and unique number, the political party that has redeemed the bond, the last four digits of the party’s bank account number, and the denomination and quantity of bonds redeemed. Previously, the State Bank of India had submitted separate details concerning the purchasers, the amounts involved, and the funds received by the parties.
The chairman of the bank informed the Supreme Court that apart from the KYC (Know Your Customer) details and the complete account numbers, there are no further undisclosed details regarding electoral bonds. The unique alphanumeric numbers play a crucial role in identifying the bond and tracing the party to which it was allocated.
The Supreme Court observed that by not disclosing this number, the State Bank of India did not fully adhere to the top court’s order issued on March 11, which directed SBI to reveal all details concerning electoral bonds.
As per the previously disclosed information, the top purchaser of electoral bonds was Future Gaming and Hotel Services, which is owned by Santiago Martin, a prominent figure in the lottery industry.
