A discussion on dealing with illicit financial risks

Indian and US revenue officials have discussed ways to accelerate efforts to reduce illicit financial risks and global implementation of anti-money laundering standards for virtual assets. According to the joint statement, during the discussion, participants discussed the experiences of virtual assets and their service providers to promote responsible innovation while mitigating illicit financial risks. According to the statement, both sides emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the global implementation of AML/CFT standards for virtual assets to effectively address the issue of regulatory arbitrage in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.

This is an important step to combat money laundering and other financial crimes. It allows authorities to trace the flow of money and identify those responsible for it. India and the US agreed to convene talks again next year to take these discussions forward and increase coordination and cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels, including working together on the Financial Action Task Force.

Settlement of 11,600 cases under RERA

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has settled 11,600 cases since 2016. According to the data of the Ministry of Housing, among the objections raised by the home buyers in Uttar Pradesh, 38 percent of the cases have been settled, while in Haryana, 18 percent and 13 percent of the cases have been settled in Maharashtra. Settlements made under RERA across the country have benefited home buyers.

Luxury cars are more common

The reason why luxury cars are seen more on the road these days is not because people have become richer but because people are willing to pay higher installments for longer. According to the available information, the monthly installment for a car worth a quarter of a crore comes to 1.66 lakh rupees. Land Rover is worth Rs 1.47 crore, its monthly installment is Rs 1.89 lakh. People may not have 1.47 crores but have the power to pay its installments. In short, the number of luxury car installment borrowers is high.

Rs.64,920 crore seized in bank fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has handled 1,105 bank fraud cases, seized Rs 64,920 crore and arrested 150 people. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Finance said that at the end of March 2023, from public sector banks Rs. The number of willful defaulters with outstanding loans of Rs 25 lakh and above has increased to 14,159. At the end of 2019, it was 10,209. In case of private sector banks, the number of such defaulters increased to 2,504 at the end of March 2023 from 1,950 at the end of June 2019. According to information received from the ED, it has taken up around 1,105 bank fraud cases for investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, including cases involving willful defaulters. Necessary action has been taken in accordance with the provisions of the Money Laundering Act, resulting in the recovery of Rs. 64,920 crores (approx.) have been seized.

Infosys lost $1.5 billion worth of orders

The order of Infosys, which signed an MoU for one and a half billion orders with a global company three months ago, has been cancelled. The reason is not given but it is said that the order has been canceled due to geo-political reasons. The order for 15 years was to prepare artificial intelligence based business services for a foreign company. According to one estimate, the company that canceled the order is Manulife Financial Corporation of Toronto. Canceling an order worth one and a half billion dollars is a blow for Infosys.