The Election Commission made public all the information regarding electoral bonds on Thursday, providing transparency regarding the donor and recipient of these bonds. The data includes details such as the purchaser's name, bond denomination, and unique bond number, along with information on the party that encashed the bond. Additionally, the last four digits of the bank account number of the political parties redeeming the bonds, as well as the denomination and unique number of the bond encashed, were also disclosed.
The State Bank of India (SBI) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it has furnished the Election Commission with comprehensive details of electoral bonds, including the unique bond number linking the purchaser to the recipient political party. SBI's chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, confirmed in an affidavit submitted to the court that all relevant information regarding electoral bonds held by the bank has been provided to the Election Commission.
The released data consists of two separate lists, delineating the bond purchaser's name, denomination, and bond number, alongside details of the party that cashed the bond. However, the SBI chairman emphasized that full bank account numbers and KYC details of political parties redeeming the bonds have not been disclosed, citing security concerns associated with these accounts. Similarly, the KYC details of purchasers have also been withheld for security reasons.
It's worth noting that the State Bank of India was the sole authorized institution for selling and redeeming electoral bonds since their inception in March 2018 until their annulment by the Supreme Court last month.
