Anti-money laundering rules amended; use of Aadhaar made easier

The government has amended the anti-money laundering rules to allow people to use Aadhaar for identification and yet use an address different from the one given in Aadhaar document for completing Know Your Customer (KYC) for purposes like opening bank accounts.

The Finance Ministry on 13th November, 2019 made an amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, allowing an individual to provide a current address, different from the address as per the identity information available in the Central Identities Data Repository, on a self-declaration basis to the reporting entity. The move is aimed at making it easier to use the biometric identification document for various purposes and seeks to improve the ‘ease of living’, a priority for the government.

According to the notification, there was demand from various sectors. It will help migrant workers who have the address of their native place in Aadhaar but want a bank account with their current address where they are living for work.

The statement also stated that there are many instances where people may have their address in Aadhaar and want to give a more functional address for KYC. In May, the Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to use Aadhaar for KYC with the customer’s consent.

The RBI has laid down KYC norms to be followed by banks and other entities regulated by it for different customer services.