J&K Bank Under Scrutiny: 1.54 Lakh Accounts Unlinked to PAN
Public Lokpal
July 31, 2026
J&K Bank Under Scrutiny: 1.54 Lakh Accounts Unlinked to PAN
An Income Tax Department investigation has revealed that 1.54 lakh accounts were opened at J&K Bank between 2021 and 2024 without a linked Permanent Account Number (PAN).
Spanning a staggering Rs 4.88 lakh crore in high-value deposits, this loophole was termed a "systemic failure" and a "significant red flag" for potential tax evasion.
The unlinked accounts comprised 32,498 government-linked accounts with massive credits of Rs 4,68,508 crore, and 1.25 lakh private accounts holding Rs 36,789 crore.
Most of these were Savings Bank accounts opened merely by using Form 60 declarations, bypassing proper identification requirements.
Unlinked accounts were even utilized for major government welfare initiatives like the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme.
Following the investigation, J&K Bank held supervisory reviews with the Reserve Bank of India and submitted a compliance report, confirming that PAN linking has now been made strictly mandatory across major account categories.