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Overview of Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND)

Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND)

Introduction of Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) 

FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) is the central, national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions to enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs. Financial Intelligence Unit involved in the receipt, analysis and dissemination of financial intelligence as per the mandate assigned under the PMLA international standards delineated by the Financial Action Task Force & Egmont Group

  1. Government of India set Financial Intelligence unit on 18th of November 2004. FIU is a member of the Egmont Group (The Egmont Group is a united body of 170 Financial Intelligence Units). The Egmont Group facilitates and prompts the exchange of information, knowledge, and cooperation amongst member FIUs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing
  2. Another responsibility of the Financial Intelligence Unit is to strengthen and facilitate of national and international intelligence, investigation, and enforcement agencies and to help in pursuit of counter against money laundering and other related financial crimes.
  3. Financial Intelligence unit is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council headed by the finance minister

The Basic functions of Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) are:

Main functions of Financial Intelligence Unit are: Compliance, Financial Intelligence, How FIU Collects information; Analyze; International cooperation; Suspicious transaction reports, Combat money laundering; Collection of information; Compiles reports; Egmont group plenary meetings; Regulatory intelligence and reporting; Ongoing monitoring; Sharing information with other domestic agencies

  1. Information Collection: FIU is the nodal agency for receiving the reports such as receiving Cash Transaction reports (CTRs), Reports on Purchase or Sale of Immovable Property, Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports, and Suspicious Transaction Reports from various reporting entities.
  2. Analysis of Information: To analyze the information received to find the patterns in the transactions to check if there is anything suspicious regarding money laundering and other financial crimes.
  3. Information sharing: To Share the relevant information with respective relevant entities such as law enforcement agencies, national regulatory authorities or National intelligence & foreign Financial Intelligence Units as per requirement raised.
  1. Coordination: Integrate & Improve procuration and sharing of financial intelligence via an effective & efficient national, regional and global network to combat money laundering and related financial crimes.
  2. Financial Intelligence Unit Act as Central Repository: Substantiate & Store national data base on cash transactions and suspicious transactions on the basis of reports received from reporting entities.

Constitution of Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) 

  • The Financial Intelligence Unit is a multidisciplinary body have sanctioned strength of 74 Members from different Govt Dept’s.
  • The members are inducted from organizations such CBDT, CBIC, RBI, SEBI, Department of Legal Affairs and Other Intelligence entities.

An example of information collection by FIU:

  • As per the RBI guidelines, Financial entities are required to file NTR for transactions exceeding INR 10 lakh (in foreign currency) in a single day for Non Profit Organisations. The Basic Objective of Non Profit Organisation Transaction Report’s is to help Financial Intelligence Unit detect & prevent money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illegal activities that may be carried out with the help of Non Profit Organisations.
  • Financial Intelligence Unit collects: Contact information – home and business addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media contact information. Demographic information – names, titles, gender, birth and death dates, and ethnicity.

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