Irdai tightens anti-money laundering rules for insurance companies

The insurance regulator has stiffened the anti-money laundering rules as part of consolidation of the guidelines for the sector.

The rules issued to consolidate and update guidelines on anti-money laundering replaces the assorted norms issued since 2013. The key change is that exemptions and relaxations from the guidelines for companies have been done away with. So no life, general, or health insurer can claim any relaxations to comply with the money-laundering rules, as set out by the Reserve Bank of India.

Also, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has made the level of risk assessment a function of the size of the business of the companies. So the “periodicity of conducting anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism programme review and compliance audit and risk assessment (shall) not be fixed but based on risk exposure by the insurer”.

The guidelines come as the regulator is preparing the ground for a larger exposure of foreign companies and a wider range of domestic financial sector companies to enter the sector. Globally, all regulators are upping the ante on these risks.