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RBI steps to combat financial terrorism

Special Correspondent

All wire transfers of Rs. 50,000 and above must include complete originator information

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken steps under the Know-Your Customer (KYC) norms to combat financial terrorism and money laundering through wire transfers of funds, stipulating that all domestic wire transfers of Rs. 50,000 and above must include complete originator information.

Pointing out that "Wire transfer is an instantaneous and most preferred route for transfer of funds across the globe,'' the RBI in a notification to banks said originator information can be used by the Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) for analysing suspicious or unusual activity. The originator information can also be put to use by the beneficiary bank to facilitate identification and reporting of suspicious transactions to FIU-IND. All cross-border wire transfers must be accompanied by accurate and meaningful originator information, including the name and address of the originator and where an account exists, the number of that account. In the absence of an account, a unique reference number, as prevalent in the country concerned, must be included.

In the case of domestic wire transfer of Rs. 50,000 and above accompanying information must include the name, address and account number unless full originator information can be made available to the beneficiary bank by other means. If a bank has reason to believe that a customer is intentionally structuring wire transfers to below Rs. 50,000 to several beneficiaries, the bank must insist on complete customer identification before effecting the transfer. The same method would be applicable when a credit or debit card is used to effect money transfer. In the case of non-cooperation from the customer, efforts should be made to establish his identity and a suspicious transaction report (STR) should be made to FIU-IND.

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