English
New Delhi, July 21: An Income tax official discovered a transaction of Rs 1 crore in an idle zero-balance bank account of a daily wager. The transaction apparently took place without the latter’s knowledge. The incident has alerted the banking authorities to the potential risk of money mulling posed by bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.
When fraudsters use the bank accounts of a third person to illegally launder money, the whole process is called money mulling wherein the victim/the mule is owner of the bank account. This particular case came to light after an Income tax official accidentally saw a transaction of Rs 1 crore coming into the account of a daily wager. The latter was served a notice and was subsequently found to have no knowledge of the transaction.
(ALSO READ: Deposits in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts cross Rs 30,000 crore)
Reserve Bank of India has notified government and state-owned banks of the dangers of the money mulling and how bank accounts opened under the government’s scheme can be used to enable it. Steps have been taken to monitor accounts vulnerable to illegal use. The regulatory authorities have beefed up vigilance and lenders have been notified of the failure.
The fraudsters usually contact their mules through emails, chat rooms, etc and convince them to receive a certain amount of money in their bank accounts and forward it further, in exchange for a commission. This chain of transaction ultimately leads to the beneficiary, who evades the authorities while they crack down on the mules.
RBI has asked all banks to improve their internal monitoring system and guard against misuse of bank accounts, particularly idle accounts. Failure to do so could result in supervisory sanctions and enforcement actions, the RBI said.
(Image credit: The Indian Express)
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Business News on India.com.
