What changed
The UN Security Council added one new entity—Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in South-East Asia (ISIL-SEA)—to its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List effective January 27, 2022. Regulated entities must now treat this group as a designated terrorist entity under Section 51A of UAPA, 1967, and the RBI Master Direction on KYC.
What it means for you
Banks and other regulated entities must immediately screen all customers and transactions against this new entry and freeze any assets linked to ISIL-SEA. Non-compliance could attract regulatory action under UAPA and KYC directions. This update reinforces the obligation to maintain real-time sanctions screening and report any matches to the Financial Intelligence Unit and MHA.
What you must do
- Update your UNSC sanctions screening database to include ISIL-SEA (QDe.169) and all aliases listed.
- Freeze all accounts, transactions, and assets linked to this entity immediately and report to FIU-IND.
- Forward any delisting requests received from customers to Joint Secretary (CTCR), MHA electronically.
- Review and reinforce compliance with Sections 51, 52, and 53 of the RBI KYC Master Direction (Feb 25, 2016, as amended).
Who it affects
All scheduled commercial banks, Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), Payment system operators, All other RBI-regulated entities
What is the effective date for this sanctions update?
The UNSC added ISIL-SEA to its sanctions list on January 27, 2022, and RBI notified regulated entities on January 30, 2023. Compliance is required from the date of the RBI circular.