FM Sitharaman says will look into Fino Payments Bank MD’s arrest under GST Act

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday assured that she would look into the matter related to the arrest of Fino Payment Bank’s MD Rishi Gupta. Meanwhile, the bank has made it clear that the arrested Rishi Gupta has nothing to do with the GST issue.

Responding to a social media post by former CFO and Board Member at Infosys, Mohandas Pai, she replied: “Thanks for sharing this. Will check.” In his post Pai asked: “How can a ceo of a regulated bank be arrested for an issue with a business partner?” He also questioned whether this is not overreach. “Finance Ministry has given vast powers for GST. What is the safeguard for citizens against misuse,” he further asked, requesting the Finance Minister’s intervention.

On Saturday, the bank informed in a stock exchange filing about the arrest of Rishi Gupta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, under the provisions of section 132(1)(a) and 132(1) (i) of CGST and SGST Act, 2017. Further, a special Board Meeting was convened on Saturday to appoint Ketan Merchant, Chief Financial Officer of the bank as a Head of the Organisation to carry on and oversee the day-to-day operations in absence of Gupta. “The bank is actively taking appropriate measures to address and overcome the above situation,” it said.

It mentioned that the investigation relates to business partner(s) of the bank and not its GST compliance. “The bank is co-operating with the authorities to provide all the necessary information. Presently there is no impact on the bank,” it said.

On Saturday Merchant said: “The bank wishes to inform that we have strong corporate governance, compliance framework and robust processes in place. As a regulated entity, we are compliant with all the laws, including GST. The issue is with regards to a GST investigation pertaining to programme managers who have relationships with other banks including Fino Payments Bank Limited.” He further stated that the bank and Gupta have nothing to do with the actions of the programme managers.

“We have full faith in the country’s judiciary and will continue to extend full cooperation and assistance to the authorities in the on-going process. We would like to further assure our customers, investors and all our stakeholders that our business operations will continue uninterrupted and there will be no impact on our services. We stand committed to deliver on our customer centricity,” Merchant said.

Published on February 28, 2026