Western Union launches probe after being accused of religious discrimination

The world’s largest money transfer company, Western Union, has launched an internal investigation at its branch in Gurugram for denying funds to a Christian woman because they were wired by her “Hindu friend”.

“We are deeply sorry for this incident and want to make sure you know that our business decisions are never made on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, gender, age, or disability. Our specialized team is already investigating this matter to ensure Western Union Policies are fully adhered to by our independent agents,” the American finance services’ giant came out with a statement on Twitter.

The apology from the global company came after a video of the incident started to draw scathing reactions on the social networking site, with Twitter users calling out WU’s religious discriminatory policies.

“I have my passport, I have my Aadhaar. How can you do this,” Melanie Martin, also a member of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC), can be heard saying to the employee in the video.

Martin made public the details of the controversial exchange with the Western Union employee on Friday, the day when the incident took place.

“How can a bank refuse money transfer on the ground of religion? And the bank staff isn't fazed at all! This happened in the Gurgaon branch of Western Union. Action must be taken against this!” AIPC East Delhi reacted to the incident.

The video of the controversial exchange was shared by AIPC’s East Delhi chapter on its Twitter account, drawing strong reactions from fellow users.

This is not the first time that the American company is finding itself in the firing line of its Indian customers. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh had in September 2016 raised a similar issue, after his then-fiancee Hazel Keech was denied a wire transfer for not being “Hindu enough”.