Page 7 - Money Laundering

RBI makes changes to KYC norms to align it with money laundering rules

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday made changes to the Know Your Customer (KCC) norms to align them with recent amendments carried out in the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules and revised certain existing instructions. According to the Amendment to the Master Direction - Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016, regulated entities (REs) will have to apply the customer due diligence (CDD) procedure at the unique customer identification code (UCIC) level. "Thus, if an existing KYC-compliant customer of a RE desires to open another account or avail any other product or service from the same RE, there shall be no need for a fresh CDD exercise as far as identification of the customer is concerned," it said. The amended provisions in the Master Direction have come into force with immediate effect, said the circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in this regard. Amendments have also been made regarding CDD Procedure and sharing KYC information with the ..

MHA warns of cybercriminals using 'mule' accounts for money laundering

The Union Home Ministry has issued an alert against illegal payment gateways created by transnational gangs of cybercriminals using mule bank accounts and are being used for facilitating money laundering, officials said on Monday. The gateways are created by transnational cybercriminals who provide money laundering services using accounts of shell companies and individuals, exploiting the bulk payout facility provided by banks, it said. Police in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh recently conducted nationwide raids which showed that cybercriminals have set up illegal digital payment gateways using rented bank accounts for laundering the proceeds of different crimes. "Some of the payment gateways identified during the operation are PeacePay, RTX Pay, PoccoPay, RPPay etc. These gateways are learnt to be providing money laundering as a service and are operated by foreign nationals," a government statement said. When information gathered by the state police was analysed by the Indian Cybercri

Money laundering big threat to online gaming, digital economy: Report

The fast-growing Indian online gaming sector is facing a significant threat from money laundering, necessitating urgent steps to ensure its sustained success and protect the country's robust digital economy, a report said on Thursday. The essential measures outlined in a report by the Digital India Foundation include forming a dedicated task force for illegal operators, creating a whitelist of legal operators, combating misleading advertisements, and incorporating principles of financial integrity and international cooperation. Other critical measures include public awareness and providing education to help users make informed decisions and avoid platforms that engage in deceptive practices. A comprehensive assessment of in-game assets, financial institutions should deploy AI/ML-driven detection models, build strong investigative teams, implement a robust programmes and take decisive actions to combat money mules, it said. The Indian Real Money Gaming (RMG) sector has become a key .

Supreme Court grants bail to MLA Abbas Ansari in money laundering case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to MLA Abbas Ansari in connection with a money laundering case. Abbas Ansari is the son of gangster-politician and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who died in jail a few months ago. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Pankaj Mithal gave the relief to Ansari. The apex court on August 14 had issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and sought its reply on the appeal filed by Ansari challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court which rejected his bail. The high court on May 9 had dismissed Ansari's bail plea. Considering the material available on record, including the flow charts which clearly demonstrate the origin of funds and also explains how the funds found their way into the accounts of the accused Ansari, this court finds him not entitled for a bail at this stage, the high court had said. The high court had also mentioned in its order that the money trail links Ansari with the movement of funds to and from the two firms -- M/s

FATF changes grey listing criteria to focus on nations posing greater risk

The global anti-money laundering watchdog noted that the impact of illicit financial flows is felt most strongly by the least developed nations

ED arrests 2 directors of Delhi-based multi-national rice firm under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested two directors of a Delhi-based rice company under the anti-money laundering law in a bank-loan fraud case of Rs 1,200 crore involving a consortium of lenders led by the Canara Bank. Aparna Puri and Rahul Sood, also the key managerial persons of Amira Pure Foods Private Limited (APFPL), were taken into custody on October 8. A special court dealing with cases lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Delhi sent them to the ED's custody till October 11, the federal agency said in a statement. The money-laundering case stems from a 2020 FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against APFPL, Karan A Chanana, Radhika Chanana, Anita Daing, Aparna Puri, Rahul Sood and others for allegedly committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating etc. and causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 1,201.85 crore to the consortium of banks. According to the ED, "key accuse

RBI asks REs to conduct internal risk assessments for terror financing

There is always a likely exposure to elevated ML, TF, and PF risks in an ever-changing business environment and the increasing level of complexities in banking and financial products

RBI asks banks to use info from all relevant sources for risk assessment

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday asked banks, NBFCs, and other entities regulated by it to use information obtained from all relevant internal and external sources for their risk assessment exercise. Reserve Bank's Regulated entities (REs) have to carry out Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment' exercise periodically to identify, assess and take effective measures to mitigate their Money Laundering (ML), Terrorist Financing (TF) and Proliferation Financing (PF) risks for clients, countries or geographic areas, products, services, and transactions or delivery channels. In this regard, the central bank has issued 'The Internal Risk Assessment Guidance for Money Laundering/ Terrorist Financing' for the REs, particularly for the dealing staff and the Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) / Counter Proliferation Financing (CPF) practitioners of the REs. It specifies key principles for an internal risk assessment (IRA) exercise. "The

Money laundering case: Shilpa Shetty, husband challenge ED notices in HC

Actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have moved the Bombay High Court challenging ED's notice directing them to vacate their house in Mumbai's Juhu area and a farmhouse in Pune in connection with a money-laundering case. The pleas came up for hearing on Wednesday before a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan. The court issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday. Their petitions challenge ED notices dated September 27 issued to Shetty and Kundra directing them to evict their residential premises here and a farmhouse in Pune within ten days in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged Bitcoin fraud. The couple's advocate Prashant Patil said that Shetty and Kundra received the eviction notices only on October 3. He termed the notices arbitrary and illegal and sought them to be quashed. According to the pleas, there is no grave urgency for the petitioners to vac

Delhi Court grants bail to Lalu Yadav, sons in land-for-jobs case

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, in the land-for-jobs money laundering case.

Land-for-jobs case: Delhi court grants bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav and sons

RJD chief and former railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his sons, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, were granted bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh each

Singapore announces new measures to tackle money laundering activities

Singapore intends to flag and strike off companies that are inactive, increase data sharing across government agencies, and from next week educate non-regulated sectors

Mahadev betting app case: SC gives bail to Chhattisgarh businessman

The Supreme Court on Thursday gave bail to Chhattisgarh-based businessman Sunil Dammani, arrested by the ED in August last year in a money laundering case linked to the Mahadev illegal gambling app, and said it was doing so without getting into the merit of the allegations. A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that Dammani has been in custody since August 23, 2023 and set aside the Chhattisgarh High Court order denying him bail. "Without saying anything on merits, we are of the view that the appellant may be released on bail subject to bail conditions. "Appellant is ordered to be released on bail if not required in any other investigation, subject to the condition that he shall mark his presence every 15 days at the ED office in the concerned district. The appellant shall not leave the country without prior permission of the trial court," the bench said. As the hearing commenced, Dammani's counsel, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, told the court that the ...

MUDA case: Complainant appears before ED to give evidence, produce records

Social activist Snehamayi Krishna, one of the complainants in the alleged MUDA 'scam' case, appeared before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) here on Thursday to give evidence and produce records in connection with the investigation initiated by the federal agency, sources said. The ED on September 30 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR by police, against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority). The ED, which had taken cognisance of the FIR registered against the Chief Minister by the Lokayukta police on September 27, had summoned the Mysuru-based RTI activist to appear in person before the investigation officer at Bengaluru Zonal Office of the ED to give evidence and produce records in connection with the probe or proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the sources said. Based on Krishna's ...

Mahadev app case: SC to hear bail plea of Chhattisgarh bizman on Oct 3

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on October 3 a bail plea of Chhattisgarh-based businessman Sunil Dammani, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in August last year in a money laundering case linked to the illegal gambling Mahadev app. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by the counsel for the jailed businessman that the bail plea needed to be heard urgently. "We usually do not skip the board (cases listed for hearing on a given day), but this is a bail plea... We will hear it on Thursday," the CJI said after Damani's lawyer said that his client has been in jail for over 13 months. On August 23 last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Dammani along with three others for their alleged involvement in the Mahadev app money laundering case. The central probe agency had also conducted searches at the properties of 10 people including Vinod Verma, political advisor to former Chhattisgarh ch

ED books Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA-linked money-laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and some others in a money-laundering case linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, taking cognisance of a recent state Lokayukta FIR, official sources said. The federal agency has filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the chief minister and others, they said. Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru-located Lokayukta police establishment on September 27. The FIR was lodged after a special court in Bengaluru last week ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the case. The order of the special court judge came a day after the high court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against the senior Congress leader on allegations of illegaliti

Enforcement Directorate and Binance crack down on Fiewn gaming app scam

The money was laundered using digital wallets linked to a global cryptocurrency exchange

India's gems, jewellery sector vulnerable to money laundering: FATF

The ease with which the trade of precious metals and stones can be used to move "large amounts" of funds without leaving an ownership trail shows this sector in India is vulnerable to be used as a tool for money laundering and terrorist financing, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has said. The Paris-headquartered global body said in its mutual evaluation report for India released on Thursday that the money laundering (ML) risks associated with the "smuggling and dealing" in precious metals and stones should be "further developed" given the size of this sector in the country. The report said there were approximately 1,75,000 DPMS (dealers of precious metals and stones) in the country but its apex body-- Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) only had 9,500 members. Certificate of being a GJEPC member along with tax registration is mandatory for undertaking import or export of gems trade in India. Currently, there are "shortcomings" in risk understanding, particula

India to adopt nuanced approach to deal with at risk NPOs after FATF report

India on Thursday said it will adopt a "nuanced" approach to deal with "at risk" non-profit organisations (NPOs), an issue raised by the global crime watchdog FATF in its report which has otherwise appreciated India for its efforts to tackle terror financing and money laundering. Additional Secretary (Revenue), Finance Ministry, Vivek Agarwal said India has excelled on 6 'immediate outcomes' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including in risk, policy and coordination, international cooperation, financial intelligence, confiscation and proliferation financing. On the five other parameters, including abuse of NPOs and terror financing sanctions, as well as prosecution of money laundering and terror financing cases India has got a medium rating. As regards the abuse of NPOs for terror financing, Agarwal said the scope for NPOs being misused is very less in India because there is a cap on cash donations. "We were trying to make a case that regulatory framework is good enough..

ED gets max tip offs for money laundering from media, social sites: FATF

Open source inputs like media reports, social media comments, tip offs and complaints form the bulk of information that leads the ED to identify potential money laundering cases, the FATF said on Thursday in its latest mutual evaluation report for India. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which steers the combat against money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, also lauded India's systems and regime created for this battle as it asked the country to bring about "major improvements" to strengthen prosecution in such cases. "The largest number of money laundering investigations are identified by ED (Enforcement Directorate) from open sources; from the general public, media reporting and information from social networks followed by verification of the information via the CCTNS (crime and criminal tracking network and systems) database and money laundering reports by LEAs (law enforcement agencies)," the report said. The FATF said the ED uses "seven avenues" to identify ...