Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing law in India sits primarily in the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 and the rules made under it. Reporting entities — banks, NBFCs, payment operators, jewellers above notified thresholds, real-estate intermediaries and certain professionals — must identify clients, understand beneficial ownership, keep records, and report suspicious and prescribed transactions to FIU-IND.
A Chartered Accountant is asked to look at these programmes in two ways: as an adviser building the KYC and internal-control file, and as an auditor testing whether the file is operating. The longer note is AML / CFT obligations of reporting entities.
Why it has become a local question
Ayodhya’s land and hospitality market, Gorakhpur’s trading volumes, and cash-intensive agro-trade around Basti all attract the attention of bankers’ KYC teams. A company that cannot explain its beneficial owners, or a hotel that cannot show how cash is identified, will find credit and registrations slower than the statute alone would suggest. The work is therefore practical, not theoretical.