Lock on counter terrorist funding; State Bank of India installed Anti Money Laundering (AML) software Amlock

In order to ensure the  loyalty of its customers and counter terrorist funding, the  State Bank of India (SBI) has installed Anti Money Laundering (AML) software Amlock from 3i Infotech, an Indian software company.

Money laundering is the practice of disguising illegally obtained funds so that they seem legal. It can also refer to companies sending money offshore through accounting tricks to book profits there and avoid taxation.

The implementation was carried out in order to monitor the suspicious transfer of money and comply with AML measures. AML software will be implemented across the State Bank Group, consisting of SBI and its six associate banks - State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore - totalling more than 16,000 branches across the country.

B S Bhasin, chief general manager for banking operations and principal officer for KYC/AML, State Bank of India, said, 'State Bank of India is delighted to partner with 3i Infotech to implement AMLOCK, its Anti Money Laundering Solution. We at SBI are in sync with global awareness for matters related to anti money laundering, and this partnership is a step to have an efficient technology system to keep pace with the global changes and meet regulatory and statutory obligations.'

M B Battliwala, senior general manager of 3i Infotech, told IT Examiner that Amlock recognises the pattern of suspicious transactions and makes the monitoring process easy, removing the need to examine millions of transactions.

Battliwala, however, refused to disclose the contract amount, calling it confidential. However, he said the Amlock software only recognises the pattern and does not detect offenders.

In India, the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act was made effective on 1 July 2005. Section 3 of the Act describes the offence of money-laundering as covering those persons or entities who directly or indirectly attempt to indulge or knowingly assist or knowingly are party or are actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property.

Section 4 of the Act prescribes punishment to the offender, with a minimum imprisonment of three years which can be extended to seven years. The offender is also liable to pay a fine of Rs 500,000.