RBI cautions against use of e-gold as currency

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India today cautioned banks, money changers, financial institutions and the public against the use of "e-gold" as currency in their transactions and said it was violative of current regulations.
The RBI clarified in a statement here that "e-gold" was not a currency of any sovereign state and any transaction was violative of current regulations in force in India.
The apex bank said an impression was sought to be created among the members of the public by some agencies and persons that transactions involving "e-gold", purportedly an electronic currency, was freely permitted in India and it had the status of a foreign currency.
The RBI said it had also come across a recent pamphlet on the subject, circulated along with a newspaper, which stated that NRIs use "e-gold" to send remittances into India and hence cautioned against using this as currency in their transactions.