The Reserve Bank on Thursday asked all Regional Rural Banks to follow due diligence while dealing with transactions from persons and entities in eight countriers — Bolivia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey.

The bank cited a 2011 statement from the Financial Action Task Force — the inter-governmental body working to develop national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing — which cautioned countries regarding the risks associated with these nations.

“All RRBs are accordingly advised to take into account risks arising from the deficiencies in anti-money laundering /combating the financing of terrorism regime of these countries, while entering into business relationships and transactions with persons (including legal persons and other financial institutions) from or in these countries/ jurisdictions,” the RBI said in a notification.

According to it, FATF has these eight countries as having not made sufficient progress in addressing the deficiencies associated with AML/CFT and they have not committed to an action plan developed with the FATF to address the issues.

“The FATF calls on its members to consider the risks arising from the deficiencies associated with each jurisdiction as described in the statement: Bolivia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey,” it said.

The FATF had also identified Iran and North Korea with regard to deficiencies in AML/CFT regime and the RBI had earlier cautioned RRBs in this regard. (The Hindu)