Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) 

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) 

Subject: Economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a key unit of the multi-agency probe into the Pandora Papers, has received responses from its counterparts in over three-fourths of the requests it sent to 33 foreign jurisdictions.

Details:

• The information includes details of existing and additional foreign bank accounts; investments in shares by offshore entities; confirmation of the Beneficial Owners (BOs) and Settlors of Offshore Trusts, and investments in shares and immovable properties made by the individuals named in the Pandora Papers.
• The individuals include both Indian residents as well as Non Resident Indians (NRIs).
• The FIU has been dispatching the details in individual cases to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to accelerate their Pandora Papers probes.
• Cooperation between FIUs in the Pandora Papers probe is being done under the aegis of the Egmond Group–an umbrella organisation that brings FIUs of 167 countries together with the aim of facilitating a secure exchange of financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
• The CBDT is the lead agency in the Multi Agency Group (MAG) which was set up by the Government to probe the Pandora Papers on October 4, 2021, the day the global media expose was published.
• Besides the CBDT and the FIU, officials from the Enforcement Directorate and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are members of the MAG and are present at every meeting to review progress of the probe.

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND)

• It was set by the Government of India on 18th November 2004 as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
• FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and financing of terrorism.
• FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.
• FIU-IND is a multi disciplinary body with a sanctioned strength of 75 personnel–from different organizations namely Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Legal Affairs and Intelligence agencies.

Organisational Structure:

Main Functions:

• Collection of Information: Act as the central reception point for receiving Cash Transaction reports (CTRs),Non-Profit Organisation Transaction Report(NTRs), Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports (CBWTRs), Reports on Purchase or Sale of Immovable Property (IPRs) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) from various reporting entities.
• Analysis of Information: Analyse received information in order to uncover patterns of transactions suggesting suspicion of money laundering and related crimes.
• Sharing of Information: Share information with national intelligence/law enforcement agencies, national regulatory authorities and foreign Financial Intelligence Units.
• Act as Central Repository: Establish and maintain national data base on the basis of reports received from reporting entities.
• Coordination: Coordinate and strengthen collection and sharing of financial intelligence through an effective national, regional and global network to combat money laundering and related crimes.
• Research and Analysis: Monitor and identify strategic key areas on money laundering trends, typologies and developments.