Recent press reports said that the Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs.1 lakh on The Limbasi Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Limbasi Dist. Kheda, Gujarat, in exercise of powers vested in it under the provisions of Section 47(A)(1)(b) read with Section 46(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (AACS) for violation of Reserve Bank of India’s instructions for reporting of cash transactions in excess of Rs.10.00 lakh to Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), as required under the Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines.
RBI is getting stricter with UCBs as they are seen as an important component of financial inclusion by providing home loan, personal loan etc to a large section of society.
The Reserve Bank of India had issued a show cause notice to the bank, in response to which the bank submitted a written reply. After considering the facts of the case and the bank’s reply and also personal submissions in the matter, the Reserve Bank of India came to the conclusion that the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of the penalty.