Demonetisation: Banks told to keep a hawk's eye on new accounts, deposits

MUMBAI: Bankers are on vigil. Top management of the banks have sensitised their staff at the branches about anti-money laundering breaches that could happen as many individuals may want to open benami accounts to deposit unaccounted cash.
Meanwhile, bank branches, which opened on Thursday for banking transactions, saw a huge rush of customers queuing up to deposit and exchange high notes.
Individuals are required to provide PAN card number if they deposit cash above Rs 25,000 at a time.
“There could be instances of suspicious transactions where some individuals may want to deposit huge sum on daily basis. There could also be instances of some people from lower income group depositing bulk money, which could be front for others. We have told our branches to be cautious about such account holders and keep a watch on them,” said a senior bank official from a private bank.
Some large private sector banks have also decided to use this as an opportunity to do fresh KYC of their customers by seeking fresh identity proof. While there is no cap on the amount that an individual can deposits with banks, there is a cap of Rs 10,000 on the amount that an individual can withdraw.