Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Policy

Provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) forms the core of legal framework put in place by India to combat money laundering and related crimes. PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force from 1st July, 2005. Under PMLA, all the entities registered with SEBI are required to furnish information of all the suspicious transactions whether or not made in cash to FIU-IND. Under Section 3 of PMLA, projecting of crime as untainted property is an offence of money laundering liable to be punishment under section 4 of the PMLA.

Money Laundering involves disguising financial assets so that they can be used without detection of the illegal activity that produced them. Through money laundering, the launderer transforms the monetary proceeds derived from criminal activity into funds with an apparently legal source.

Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) is the central national agency of India responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information of suspect financial transactions. FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in combating money laundering and related crimes.

Section 2 (1) (g) of PMLA Rules defines suspicious transaction whether or not made in cash which, to a person acting in good faith:

• Gives rise to a reasonable ground of suspicion that it may involve the proceeds of crime; or
• Appears to be made in circumstances of unusual or unjustified complexity; or
• Appears to have no economic rationale or bonafide purpose; or
• Gives rise to a reasonable ground of suspicion that it may involve financing of the activities relating to terrorism.

Policy and Procedures for Anti Money Laundering Measures

The policy and procedures outlined here provide a general background on the subjects of money laundering and terrorist financing, summarize the main provisions of the applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing legislation in India, and provide guidance on the practical implications of the Act. They also set out the steps that a registered intermediary and any of its representatives should implement to discourage and identify any money laundering or terrorist financing activities.

As per the provisions of the Act, every intermediary registered under section 12 of the SEBI Act, 1992 shall maintain a record of all the transactions, the nature and value of which has been prescribed in the Rules under the PMLA. Such transactions include:

• All cash transactions of the value of more than Rs. 10 lacs or its equivalent in foreign currency.
• All series of cash transactions integrally connected to each other which have been valued below Rs. 10 lakhs or its equivalent in foreign currency where such series of transactions take place within one calendar month.
• All suspicious transactions whether or not made in cash and including, inter-alia, credits or debits into/from any non-monetary account such as demat account, security account maintained by the registered intermediary.

We adopt written procedures to implement the anti-money laundering provisions as envisaged under the Act. Such procedures include the following three specific parameters which are related to the overall “Client Due-Diligence Process”:

1. Policy for acceptance of clients
2. Procedure for identifying the clients
3. Transaction monitoring and reporting especially Suspicious Transactions Reporting (STR)

Client Due-Diligence Process

The customer due diligence (“CDD”) measures comprise the following:

• Identification of beneficial owners. As an organization providing Research Analyst Services, details of securities account of clients are not shared with us in the process of delivering services and execution services are not part of our service package. Accordingly, identifying the beneficial owner or controlling party of the securities account of the client is the responsibility of the broker handling the security account of the client.
• Verify the customer's identity. We adhere to SEBI KYC (Know Your Client) Registration Agency Regulations and any subsequently amended regulations to verify the customer's identity in accordance with PMLA requirements. As registered members of KRA Agencies including CVL KRA, NDML KRA, and BSE KRA, we validate and download the client's information from the KRA system. If the status of the clients or their KYC information changes, we update the information on the KRA system and keep the relevant physical documents.
• Identify control / transaction handling. Transaction data is not handled by us as the client doesn't share the data with us as part of our research service. We provide non-discretionary research recommendation service, execution of which is on the discretion of the client, and execution is handled by clients themselves.

Policy for acceptance of clients

• No account is opened in a fictitious / benami name or on an anonymous basis.
• Ensure that an account is not opened where we are unable to apply appropriate client due diligence measures / collect basic KYC detail i.e. PAN card number.
• Ensure that the client is KYC registered.
• The client should not be permitted to act on behalf of another person / entity for service delivery.
• Do not accept clients with identity matching with any banned person / entity as per SEBI / Stock Exchanges, or persons debarred / banned by SEBI, before opening of account.
• Conduct risk assessment which takes into account country-specific information using the updated list of individuals and entities subjected to sanction measures under the various United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Do not on-board a client present in the list.

Procedure for identifying the clients

The “Know Your Client” (KYC) policy is strictly observed concerning the client identification procedures carried out at the time of establishing the client relationship i.e. onboarding the client. The client is identified using reliable sources including documents/information. Adequate information is obtained to satisfactorily establish the identity of each new client and the purpose of the intended nature of the relationship. Each original document is seen before acceptance of a copy and it is verified and duly attested. Failure by prospective clients to provide satisfactory evidence of identity is noted and reported to the higher authority within the organization.

Maintenance of record

All the records of the clients are maintained for a minimum period of 10 years or, in case of any regulatory action, till the time the same is resolved.

Audit

Audit of RA activities is done by an independent professional as allowed by the regulation. Any observations of audit are taken on priority basis and corrective actions are initiated.

Transaction monitoring and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR)

The only transaction encountered while delivering the service is collection of fees, as we do not have access to the execution/transaction data of the clients. Accordingly, the fee collection is through our bank account only. Further, no cash transaction is allowed for fee payment by the clients. Any suspicious transactions will be immediately notified to the Compliance Officer, in the form of a detailed report with specific references to the clients, transactions and the nature/reason of suspicion.

Reporting to FIU-India

In terms of the PMLA rules, the firm will report information relating to cash and suspicious transactions to: The Director, Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND), 6th floor, Hotel Samrat, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021. The Principal Officer is responsible for timely submission of CTR and STR to FIU-IND, maintaining utmost confidentiality. No nil reporting is made where there is no cash/suspicious transaction to be reported.

Role of staff

Principal Officer is responsible for communicating the policy on prevention of money laundering to employees, receiving reports of any suspicious dealing, clarifying queries, ensuring employees dealing with clients are aware of and follow the guidelines, reporting any suspicious transactions to appropriate authorities, handling the compliance function, and evaluating the process if any gaps are identified.

On-boarding staff dealing with customers carry primary responsibility for compliance, carrying out the KYC / customer due diligence process during new business and renewal, and bringing any suspicious activity to the firm's notice.

Communication and review of policy

A copy of this policy is provided to all management and relevant staff who handle account information, securities transactions, money and client records. An internal awareness session is conducted on a yearly basis in the first week of April. The management of the Research Analyst firm reviews the policies and procedures on prevention of ML and TF to ensure their effectiveness as and when there is a change in regulatory guidelines.