Case Brief
What Happened
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of ₹15 lakh on Sri Ganesh Co-operative Bank Ltd., Gulbarga, Karnataka, under Section 47A(1)(b) read with Section 46(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (as applicable to co-operative societies). RBI said the bank violated its KYC/AML instructions by issuing at-par cheques to a large number of walk-in customers in amounts intentionally structured below ₹50,000, opening benami accounts, and allowing huge cash deposits into those accounts. After issuing a show-cause notice and considering the bank's written reply, RBI concluded that the violations were established beyond doubt and merited the penalty.