New Delhi, Nov 23: In a bid to prevent a major financial crisis after unearthing of Rs 30,000 crore fake stamp paper scam, government today said all transactions using such papers would be valid. The assurance was given by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh when asked about the plight of those who unknowingly had used fake stamp papers in various transactions.
"Don't worry. The fake stamp papers already used will not become invalid," Singh said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here, organised by World Economic Forum and CII.
Asked if a CBI probe had been ordered into the scam, he said it would be decided after consultations with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.
A formal announcement in this regard was expected tomorrow, Singh said.
There are reports that government was considering an ordinance to validate transactions carried out through fake stamp papers between 1998 and 2002.
Singh said the government was considering to move over from stamp to non-stamp paper system. This implied that the finance ministry was working towards a demat system as it was prevalent for securities transactions.
Bureau Report