The Finance Ministry on Friday said that Paytm Payments Bank has been fined Rs 5.49 crore by the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) for non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India initiated a review of Paytm Payments Bank after receiving specific information from law enforcement agencies regarding certain entities and their network of businesses engaged in various illicit activities.
The Finance Ministry said that the funds generated from these unlawful operations, i.e. proceeds of crime were routed and channelled through bank accounts maintained by these entities with the Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.
“The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND),… has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.49 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd with reference to the violations of its obligations under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” the ministry stated.
In response to the penalty, a Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson said that the fine “pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)”
The imposition of the penalty by the FIU was passed on February 15. The FIU action follows RBI’s January 31 directive barring Paytm Payments Bank from accepting fresh deposits or credits in the accounts of its customers from February 29. The date was later extended to March 15.
With inputs from agencies.
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