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KYC Norms/AML Standards/Combating Financing of
Terrorism (CFT)/Obligation of banks underPMLA, 2002
RBI/2009-10/490
DBOD. AML.BC. No.109/14.01.001/2009-10
June 10, 2010
The Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers
All Scheduled Commercial Banks excluding RRBs/
All India Financial institutions/ Local Area Banks
Dear Sir,
Know Your Customer (KYC) norms/Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
standards/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Obligation of banks
under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Please refer to the Master Circular DBOD.AML.BC. No.2/14.01.001/ 2009-10
dated July 01, 2009 on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms/Anti-Money Laundering
(AML) standards/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) /Obligation of banks
under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Client accounts opened by professional intermediaries
2. Paragraph 2.5 (iii) of the Master Circular dated July 1, 2009 referred to
above, provides ';When the bank has knowledge or reason to believe that the
client account opened by a professional intermediary is on behalf of a single
client, that client must be identified. Banks may hold 'pooled' accounts managed
by professional intermediaries on behalf of entities like mutual funds, pension
funds or other types of funds. Banks also maintain 'pooled' accounts managed by
lawyers/chartered accountants or stockbrokers for funds held 'on deposit' or 'in
escrow' for a range of clients. Where funds held by the intermediaries are not
co-mingled at the bank and there are 'sub-accounts', each of them attributable
to a beneficial owner, all the beneficial owners must be identified. Where such
funds are co-mingled at the bank, the bank should still look through to the
beneficial owners.'; Further, in terms of paragraph 2.4 (a) of the circular, if
a bank decides to accept an account in terms of the Customer Acceptance Policy,
bank should take reasonable measures to identify the beneficial owner(s) and
verify his/her/their identity in a manner so that it is satisfied that it knows
who the beneficial owner(s) is/are. Therefore, under the extant AML/CFT
framework it is not possible for professional intermediaries like Lawyers and
Chartered Accountants, etc. who are bound by any client confidentiality that
prohibits disclosure of the client details, to hold an account on behalf of
their clients.
3. It is, therefore, reiterated that banks should not allow opening and/or
holding of an account on behalf of a client/s by professional intermediaries,
like Lawyers and Chartered Accountants, etc., who are unable to disclose true
identity of the owner of the account/funds due to any professional obligation of
customer confidentiality. Further, any professional intermediary who is under
any obligation that inhibits bank's ability to know and verify the true identity
of the client on whose behalf the account is held or beneficial ownership of the
account or understand true nature and purpose of transaction/s, should not be
allowed to open an account on behalf of a client.
4. These guidelines are issued under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation
Act, 1949. Any contravention thereof or non-compliance shall attract penalties
under Banking Regulation Act.
Yours faithfully,
(Vinay Baijal)
Chief General Manager
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