Finance ministry dept's fine on banks an afterthought: Delhi High Court

The appellate tribunal for PML held that though banks had not reported the matter to the authorities

The Delhi High Court has rejected 15 appeals by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the finance ministry against an order of the appellate tribunal of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML), which set aside the fine imposed on banks for failing to report suspected transactions. 

In its order upholding the judgment of the appellate tribunal for PML, a single-judge Bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru said as the FIU had already warned banks in writing about their failure to report suspected transactions, the fine imposed on them was an afterthought and, therefore, rightly set aside. 

The case dates back to 2013, when