Money laundering a major issue for India: IMF
27 Jan 2011
A leader among the emerging economies in Asia with strong growth and a youthful demography, India is at the same time facing a range of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.
"India continues to be a significant target for terrorist groups and has been the victim of numerous attacks," says the report prepared by IMF's financial action task force (FATF). The report, drawn up in July 2010, was released last Monday.
"The main sources of money laundering in India result from a range of illegal activities committed within and outside the country," says the report, titled 'Observance of standards and codes - FATF recommendations for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism' (AML/CFT).
The sources mainly encompass drug trafficking, fraud, counterfeiting of Indian currency, trans-national organised crime, human trafficking and corruption.
Money laundering methods are diverse, it says.
In domestic crimes, "The most common money laundering methods are opening multiple bank accounts, intermingling criminal proceeds with assets of a legal origin, purchasing bank cheques against cash, and routing through complex legal structures.''
