HomeCirculars › RBI/2010-11/121

PMLA Second Amendment Rules 2010: Key AML Obligations for Banks

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/121 · issued 20 Jul 2010 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI notifies banks of the Prevention of Money-laundering Second Amendment Rules, 2010, effective June 16, 2010. Banks must now identify beneficial owners, conduct ongoing due diligence, and treat terrorism-financing transactions as suspicious. No anonymous or fictitious accounts allowed.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A KYC & compliance officer in Indore is reviewing a new account application from a small jewelry shop. She asks the shop owner to name the real person behind the business (the beneficial owner) and checks that the shop's past transactions match its sales. Later, she spots a large cash deposit from an unknown source and flags it as possibly linked to terrorism financing, following the new rule.

What changed

The amendment inserts an explanation in Rule 2 clarifying that transactions involving terrorism financing are covered under money-laundering rules. It replaces sub-rules 1A, 1B, and 1C of Rule 9 to mandate beneficial owner identification, ongoing due diligence, and a ban on anonymous or fictitious accounts.

What it means for you

Banks must now explicitly identify and verify beneficial owners behind clients, not just the named account holder. Ongoing monitoring of transactions must align with the client's risk profile and source of funds. Any transaction linked to terrorism financing must be flagged and reported. This tightens AML compliance and increases operational scrutiny.

What you must do

Who it affects

All State and District Central Co-operative Banks, All banking companies, Financial institutions, Intermediaries covered under PMLA

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

What is the key change regarding beneficial owners?

Banks must now determine if a client is acting for a beneficial owner, identify that owner, and take reasonable steps to verify their identity. This goes beyond just knowing the client.

Does this amendment apply to co-operative banks?

Yes, the RBI circular is specifically addressed to all State and District Central Co-operative Banks, along with other banking companies and financial institutions.

What should we do about existing accounts?

You must ensure no anonymous or fictitious accounts are kept. Review existing accounts for compliance and apply ongoing due diligence to all business relationships.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2010-11/121 RPCD.CO.RF.AML.BC. No.12/07.40.00/2010-2011 July 20, 2010 The Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers All State and District Central Co-operative Banks Dear Sir, Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Second Amendment Rules, 2010- Obligation of banks. Government of India vide its Notification No. 10/2010-E.S/F.No.6/8/2009-E.S. dated June 16, 2010, has amended the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005. A copy of the Notification is enclosed for information and necessary compliance. Yours faithfully, (B.P.Vijayendra) Chief General Manager Encl: As above MINISTRY OF FINANCE (Department of Revenue) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 16th June, 2010 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA: EXTRAORDINARY Part II- Sec. 3 (i) G.S.R. 508(E)- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub - section(1) read with clause(h), clause(i), clause(j) clause(k) of sub- section 2 of section 73 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003), the Central Government , in consultation with Reserve Bank of India, hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005, namely :- 1. (1) These rules may be called Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Second Amendment Rules, 2010. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 2. In the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005 :- in rule 2 in sub-rule (1), after clause (g), the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:- "Explanation: - Transaction involving financing of the activities relating to terrorism includes transaction involving funds suspected to be linked or related to, or to be used for terrorism, terrorist act or by a terrorist, terrorist organisation or those who finance or are attempting to financing of terrorism." in rule 9, for sub- rule (1A), the following sub- rule shall be substituted, namely:- "(1A) Every banking company, financial institution and Intermediary, as the case may be, shall determine whether a client is acting on behalf of a beneficial owner, identify the beneficial owner and take all reasonable steps to verify his identity." in rule 9, for sub- rule (1B), the following sub - rule shall be substituted, namely:- "(1B) Every banking company, financial institution and Intermediary, as the case may be, shall exercise ongoing due diligence with respect to the business relationship with every client and closely examine the transactions in order to ensure that they are consistent with their knowledge of the client, his business and risk profile and where necessary, the source of funds." in rule 9, for sub- rule (1C), the following sub- rule shall be substituted, namely:- "(1C) No banking company, financial institution and Intermediary, as the case may be, shall allow the opening of or keep any anonymous account or account in fictitious names or account on behalf of other persons whose identity has not been disclosed or cannot be verified." in rule 9, for sub -rule (1C), the following sub- rule shall be inserted, namely:- "(1D) When there are suspicions of money laundering or financing of the activities relating to terrorism or where there are doubts about the adequacy or veracity of previously obtained customer identification data, every banking company, financial institution and Intermediary shall review the due diligence measures including verifying again the identity of the client and obtaining information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship, as the case may be." in rule 10, after sub- rule (3), the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:-  "Explanation: For the purpose of this rule:- (i) the expression 'records of the identity of clients' shall include records of the identification data, account files and business correspondence. the expression 'cessation of the transactions' means termination of an account or business relationship." [Notification No. 10/2010- E. S. / F. No. 6/8/2009-E.S.] S. R. MEENA, Under Secretary Note - The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3 , sub- section (i) vide number G.S.R. 444( E), dated the 1st July 2005 and subsequently amended by G.S.R.717( E) dated the 13th December 2005, G.S.R. 389( E) dated the 24th May, 2007, G.S.R. 816(E) dated the 12th November 2009 and G.S.R. 76( E) dated the 12th February 2010
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/121 · issued 20 Jul 2010. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
🧰 Tools — save, print, templates & related
Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Implement ongoing transaction monitoring systems to detect inconsistencies with client risk profiles.
📜 Compliance
  • Update KYC policies to include mandatory beneficial owner identification for all clients.
  • Train staff to recognize and report transactions potentially linked to terrorism financing.
  • Ensure no new anonymous or fictitious accounts are opened and review existing ones for compliance.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (All State and District Central Co-operative Banks, All banking companies, Financial institutions, Intermediaries covered under PMLA), your first concrete step on “PMLA Second Amendment Rules 2010: Key AML Obligations for Banks” is: “Update KYC policies to include mandatory beneficial owner identification for all clients.” (RBI issued this 20 Jul 2010).

  1. Circular: RBI/2010-11/121 -- PMLA Second Amendment Rules 2010: Key AML Obligations for Banks
  2. Issued: 20 Jul 2010
  3. Action required: Update KYC policies to include mandatory beneficial owner identification for all clients.
  4. Action required: Implement ongoing transaction monitoring systems to detect inconsistencies with client risk profiles.
  5. Action required: Train staff to recognize and report transactions potentially linked to terrorism financing.
  6. Action required: Ensure no new anonymous or fictitious accounts are opened and review existing ones for compliance.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5882&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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