The Reserve Bank of India penalised 16 central cooperative banks with a fine of Rs 5 lakh each for non-adherence of the Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering guidelines.
The lenders were issued show-cause notices and the action was taken after going through the responses, the RBI said in a notification.
"After considering the facts of the cases, the banks' replies and personal submissions in the matter, the Reserve Bank of India came to the conclusion that the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of penalty," it said.
Earlier in March, over 480 urban cooperative banks were put under scrutiny by the central bank for alleged violation of anti-money laundering laws. The RBI had also issued instructions to block accounts of all non complying customers.
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