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A bill seeking to provide for four nominees by a bank account holder was introduced in the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Lok Sabha" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Lok Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> on Friday to ensure better protection of depositors and enhance customer convenience. Introduced by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lower House, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has a provision for simultaneous and successive nominations to bank accounts, lockers, etc. As per the provision of the bill, a bank account holder can nominate up to four persons. The bill also seeks to transfer of unclaimed dividends, shares, and interest or redemption of bonds to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), allowing individuals to claim transfers or refunds from the fund, and thus safeguarding investors' interests. As the banking sector has evolved over the years, and with a view to improving bank governance and investor protection, it has become necessary to make certain amendments to five Acts, according to Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. The Bill, which was approved by the <keyword id="19916620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Union Cabinet" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Union Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword> last week, proposes to amend the <keyword id="20824389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank-of-India-Act" source="keywords">Reserve Bank of India Act</keyword>, 1934, the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the State Bank of India Act, 1955, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980. The proposed bill seeks to improve governance standards, provide consistency in reporting by banks to the Reserve Bank of India, ensure better protection for depositors and investors, improve audit quality in public sector banks, bring customer convenience in respect of nominations, and to provide for increase in the tenure of the directors in co-operative banks. Another proposed change relates to redefining 'substantial interest' for directorships, which could increase to Rs 2 crore instead of the current limit of Rs 5 lakh, which was fixed almost six decades ago. Congress member Manish Tewari opposed the introduction of the bill, saying the power to legislate with regard to cooperatives vests with state governments. RSP member N K Premachandran opposed amending five legislations through one bill, while TMC member Saugata Roy termed the bill "superfluous", saying the the amendments proposed in the bill could have been done through administrative decisions. Responding to opposition's remarks, <keyword id="19956758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Minister" source="keywords">Finance Minister</keyword> Nirmala Sitharaman said the various amendments done in Banking Regulations Act with respect to <keyword id="20814377" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cooperative-banks" source="keywords">cooperative banks</keyword> are not just one or two but several. "Simple understanding is we are not touching any aspect of the cooperatives other than that which claims under the name of banking...the sections which have been brought in for amendments, as also the court verdicts, have repeatedly reinforced the point that Banking Regulation Act and the Cooperative Banks do have this relationship and therefore it has to be taken through this route," she said. Otherwise, there is no attempt to undermine the cooperatives, particularly cooperatives dealing with everything other than banks, she said defending the Bill. The bill proposes to increase the tenure of directors (excluding the chairman and whole-time director) in cooperative banks from 8 years to 10 years, so as to align with the Constitution (Ninety-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2011. Once passed, the bill would allow a director of a Central Cooperative Bank to serve on the board of a State Cooperative Bank. The bill also seeks to give greater freedom to banks in deciding the remuneration to be paid to statutory auditors. It also seeks to redefine the reporting dates for banks for regulatory compliance to the 15th and last day of every month, instead of the second and fourth Fridays. "What's the rationale behind it? The current reporting Friday system has several limitations that impact the accuracy and effectiveness of the reporting of data. "These limitations are incomplete coverage of monthly data, seasonal fluctuations in banking activity which lead to inconsistent reporting, and the need for adjustment every 11th year which introduces complications and inconsistencies. That is why, in order to address the issue, it is proposed to amend the legislation," she said. The announcement about amendments to the Banking Regulation Act was made by the Finance Minister in the 2023-24 Budget speech. "To improve bank governance and enhance <keyword id="22728161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investors-protection" source="keywords">investors' protection</keyword>, certain amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act are proposed," she had said.

Bill to provide up to four nominees to a bank account introduced in Lok Sabha

The <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) has imposed <keyword id="512003" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="penalties" source="Orion">penalties</keyword> to the tune of Rs 40.39 crore on banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and other entities for breach of norms during 2022-23, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday. As many as 176 of these cases involving fines of Rs 14.04 crore pertained to <keyword id="6554737" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cooperative-banks" source="Orion">cooperative banks</keyword>. <keyword id="141219" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="private-sector-banks" source="Orion">Private sector banks</keyword> were fined Rs 12.17 crore while public sector banks (PSBs) were levied penalties of Rs 3.65 crore, foreign banks Rs 4.65 crore, and NBFCs ended paying up Rs 4.39 crore. "RBI has informed that it is mandated to take enforcement action as per Enforcement Policy and Framework approved by the Board for Financial Supervision of RBI, in the form of imposition of monetary penalty on regulated entities for contraventions of different statutes and directions," the Minister stated. The RBI issued guidelines on fair practices code to be adopted by banks, NBFCs, and HFCs and these covered various aspects of lending, he added.

RBI penalties on banks, NBFCs add up to Rs 40.39 crore for 2022-23

Mumbai, <keyword id="7340328" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-governor-shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das</keyword> on Monday said the central bank has noticed "excessive dominance" by one or two board members even in "big commercial banks" and asked the lenders to desist from such practices. Board discussions have to be free, fair and democratic, Das said, addressing directors of <keyword id="117575" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="urban-cooperative-banks" source="Orion">Urban Cooperative Banks</keyword> (UCBs) at a meeting organised by the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) here. "There should not be an over-dominance or excessive dominance by one or two members of the board, or the chairman or the vice-chairman. We have seen this even in big commercial banks... wherever we have seen this, we have told the bank that this is not the way," he said. He said all directors need to be given a chance to speak and a particular director's say should not be the final one on a matter. The governor, who made the point while illustrating the importance of a well-functioning board, however, did not elaborate further. In the past, the Indian banking system has witnessed problems at the promoter-led YES Bank, which had to be bailed out in an SBI-led initiative, which was supported by the RBI and the government. YES Bank Co-Founder Rana Kapoor, who was also its Chief Executive and Managing Director, was arrested in connection with the irregularities at the bank. Earlier this month, Uday Kotak, the Chief Executive and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, resigned from his post and will continue as a non-executive board member. Das said directors in UCBs -- who are elected to the post -- need to have expertise in various aspects of banking, such as risk management, information technology, etc. He urged directors to go through agenda notes, which are prepared in advance, and ask relevant questions. While a managing director should have the freedom to act as per what she or he feels right, it is also important for directors to get their doubts clarified, Das added.

RBI found excessive dominance by 1-2 board members even in big commercial banks: Das

Mumbai, The <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> on Friday announced doubling the lending limits for <keyword id="185013" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold-loans" source="Orion">gold loans</keyword> under the bullet repayment scheme for <keyword id="117575" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="urban-cooperative-banks" source="Orion">urban cooperative banks</keyword> to Rs 4 lakh. "It has been decided to increase the existing limit for gold loans under the bullet repayment scheme from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in respect of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) who have met the overall target and sub-targets under the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) as on March 31, 2023," <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> Governor <keyword id="6359111" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> said. A bullet repayment scheme is one where a borrower repays interest and the principal amount at the end of a loan tenure without worrying about repayment during the loan tenure. Das, who had a meeting with top brass of UCBs recently, said the measure is in line with the RBI's earlier announcement of providing "suitable incentives" to UCBs that have met the prescribed PSL targets, wherein a lender is mandated to devote a certain part of its overall lending for the marginalised sector. Speaking after announcing the bi-monthly policy review, Das also announced that the RBI will be issuing a comprehensive regulatory framework on project finance. "With a view to strengthen the extant regulatory framework governing project finance and to harmonise the instructions across all regulated entities, the extant prudential norms for projects under implementation have been reviewed," he said, adding that detailed draft guidelines will be released for public comments. He also announced that non-bank lenders in the 'middle and base layers' will be permitted to use Credit Risk Mitigation instruments for reducing their counter party exposure under the credit concentration norms, just like their peers classified in the 'upper layer' are allowed to right now. The RBI is also mulling introducing Card-on-File Tokenisation (CoFT) creation facilities directly at the issuer bank level, given the growing acceptance and benefits of tokenisation of card data, Das said, adding that this will help make e-commerce transactions more convenient.

RBI doubles bullet repayment gold loan limits for urban co-op banks to Rs 4 lakh

According to a new analysis, <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> contributed $1.28 billion in <keyword id="20000757" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-finance" source="keywords">climate finance</keyword> through <keyword id="20401772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="multilateral-development-banks" source="keywords">multilateral development banks</keyword> (MDBs) in 2022, surpassing the contributions of many developed countries. The study, conducted by the UK-based think tank ODI and the <keyword id="23038658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zurich-Climate-Resilience-Alliance" source="Orion">Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance</keyword>, comes amid a renewed push by some developed countries to broaden the donor base for climate finance to include developing countries like China and <keyword id="50996" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saudi-Arabia" source="Orion">Saudi Arabia</keyword>. The report reveals that only 12 developed countries provided their fair share of international climate finance in 2022. These countries are -- Norway, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Finland. Researchers noted that the significant gap in climate finance is largely due to the United States failing to contribute its fair share. Australia, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom also performed relatively poorly in this regard. The analysis has identified the top 30 non-Annex II countries that provided substantial climate finance to developing countries in 2022 through multilateral contributions to development banks and climate funds. This group includes former economies in transition like Poland and Russia, countries that have achieved high-income status since 1992, such as Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and middle-income countries with large populations, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines and Pakistan. India provided $1.287 billion in climate finance to other developing countries through MDBs in 2022, a sum larger than what was contributed by some developed countries like Greece ($0.23 billion), Portugal ($0.23 billion), Ireland ($0.3 billion) and New Zealand ($0.27 billion). China provided $ 2.52 billion in climate finance through MDBs in 2022, Brazil gave $ 1.135 billion, South Korea gave $1.13 billion and Argentina gave $1.01 billion. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (<keyword id="21931277" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UNFCCC" source="keywords">UNFCCC</keyword>), adopted in 1992, high-income, industrialised countries (referred to as Annex-II countries) are responsible for providing finance and technology to help developing countries combat and adapt to climate change. These countries, including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European Union (EU) member states, such as Germany, France and the UK, have historically benefitted from industrialisation and contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions. At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, these developed countries pledged to jointly provide $100 billion each year by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, this target has not been fully met, leading to a significant finance gap. This shortfall has eroded trust and hindered climate action in developing countries. In May, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (<keyword id="19916574" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OECD" source="keywords">OECD</keyword>) claimed that developed countries had met the long-standing $ 100 billion-a-year promise by providing nearly $ 116 billion in climate finance to developing countries in 2022, with nearly 70 % of the money given in the form of loans. The ODI researchers pointed out that many developed countries, despite performing well in terms of climate-finance contributions, would make "markedly less progress towards meeting their fair share if the finance provided was accounted for on grant-equivalence terms" -- in other words, if it reflected their real fiscal effort. The report calls for the inclusion of a "burden-sharing mechanism" in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to provide clarity on each country's obligations and hold countries accountable. The NCQG refers to the new, larger amount that developed nations must mobilise annually, starting 2025, to support climate action in developing countries. Countries are expected to finalise the NCQG at this year's UN climate conference -- <keyword id="20082972" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COP29" source="keywords">COP29</keyword> -- in Baku, Azerbaijan in November. The current $100 billion annual climate-finance goal is a collective commitment by developed countries. Its collective nature has meant that individual developed countries are not accountable for specific sums of money, potentially reducing the overall amount of climate finance provided due to the lack of individual scrutiny. The inclusion of a burden-sharing arrangement among developed countries could potentially strengthen the NCQG by fostering greater accountability and trust among parties, according to the ODI researchers. Many developing countries, including India, have recently advocated for such an arrangement to enhance accountability among developed countries.

India provided more climate finance in 2022 than many rich nations, noted recent report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian banks are urging the country's central bank to boost yuan liquidity amid shortages.</li><li>But Russia's central bank is advising lenders to limit yuan-denominated loans.</li></ul>Russia's central bank and lenders are asking each other to preserve the country's stash of Chinese yuan.Last Thursday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/russia-economy-china-yuan-sanctions-bank-payments-trade-transfers-2024-9">Russian banks</a> complained that they've run out of the Chinese yuan and called on the Central Bank of Russia to increase liquidity through currency swaps.But Russia's central bank is passing the buck back to the country's banks.In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://cbr.snowball-income.com/Collection/Collection/File/50609/ORFR_2024-08.pdf">report</a> published on Friday, Russia's central bank advised lenders to limit the issuance of yuan-denominated loans.The central bank is a primary source of yuan liquidity that it provides via daily sales and one-day swaps of the currency."Part of the growth in yuan lending was due to the replacement of loans in 'toxic' currencies, but 41% of the increase came from new foreign currency loans," said the Russian central bank in the report, referring to the currencies of countries that have imposed sanctions against the country.It added that currency swap operations can only serve as a short-term mechanism to stabilize the market, but they aren't permanent funding tools.The banks called for increased central bank currency swaps because they needed to use the mechanism to cover their foreign currency lending.But yuan liquidity is so tight that Sberbank's CEO German Gref said last Thursday that his bank cannot lend in the yuan, because it has "nothing" to cover tight foreign currency positions with, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/major-russian-lenders-say-yuan-coffers-empty-urge-central-bank-action-2024-09-05/">Reuters.</a> Sberbank is Russia's largest bank.Russian exporters can also provide liquidity through currency sales, but many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-all-china-banks-refuse-yuan-ruble-transfers-sanctions-2024-8">Chinese banks</a> are refusing to process payment transactions for Russian companies due to fears of US secondary sanctions.Chinese lenders are also avoiding currency trading in Russia for the same reason.The difficulties surrounding yuan liquidity in Russia highlight increasingly challenging trading conditions for the country as the West steps up sanctions.But <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-countries-national-tech-payments-systems-russia-china-india-swift-2024-8">Russia and its trade partners</a> are trying to find ways to get around the payments issue.Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the economic cooperation department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Russian TV that the country and its partners are discussing how to link up their bank messaging systems, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://tass.com/politics/1839601">TASS</a> state news agency reported on Friday."Combining these systems or deciding on the basis on which [system] we will work is the most sensitive, painful issue, because this is part of the country's financial sovereignty," Birichevsky said.

Russia's central bank and lenders tell each other to resolve the country's yuan supply squeeze

Hyderabad, The <keyword id="50847" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank" source="Orion">Reserve Bank</keyword> has imposed a penalty of Rs 65 lakh on city-based <keyword id="17873662" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ap-mahesh-co-operative" source="Orion">AP Mahesh Co-operative</keyword> <keyword id="283059" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="urban-bank" source="Orion">Urban Bank</keyword>, for non-compliance with provisions of <keyword id="17873661" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="cyber-security-framework-for-primary" source="Orion">Cyber Security Framework for Primary</keyword> (Urban) cooperative banks, <keyword id="129368" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="hyderabad-police" source="Orion">Hyderabad Police</keyword> said on Saturday. The central bank imposed the monetary penalty of Rs 65 lakh on AP Mahesh Co-operative Bank after the RBI's thorough cyber audit and the Hyderabad police investigation revealed the bank's significant "lapses" which led to the breach pertaining to the case wherein hackers breached the bank's systems through phishing mails and siphoned off Rs 12.48 crore in January 2022. "The RBI's thorough cyber audit and the police investigation revealed the bank's significant lapses which led to the breach. This is the first time ever that such an action has been taken against any Bank. All banks should adhere to cyber security practices to avoid such loss of public money and crucial data," a release from Hyderabad Police said. After AP Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank reported the cyber-fraud incident, a case was registered and police said the criminal act was carried out through a series of phishing emails that were cleverly disguised and sent to bank employees. Upon opening these malicious emails, the employees' systems were compromised, providing the fraudsters full access to the bank's network. During the course of the investigation of the case several perpetrators, including Nigerian nationals, were arrested, police said. "This investigation also revealed bank's negligence which is evident from its failure to implement Cyber security measures, such as an Anti-phishing application, Intrusion prevention and detection systems, and Real-time threat defense and management systems, as mandated by the RBI," Hyderabad Police said. These Cyber Security components are indispensable for safeguarding cyber landscape, and were found to be conspicuously absent within the bank's cyber security infrastructure, the release said adding Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand, corresponded with the RBI Governor, highlighting the critical lapses and requested for the suspension of the bank's license to operate. The current legal framework did not allow for the criminal negligence charges against the bank management, it said. "Nevertheless, the Hyderabad City Police pursued the matter which resulted in the RBI imposing a monetary penalty of Rs 65 lakh on AP Mahesh Co-operative Bank," the release added.

RBI imposes first-of-its-kind penalty on AP Mahesh co-op bank for cyber security violations

<keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> requires an investment support of USD 1.4 trillion — an average of USD 28 billion per year — to become a net-zero economy by 2070 and raising <keyword id="20260327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-resources" source="keywords">financial resources</keyword> for adaptation and mitigation action of this scale is an "unprecedented challenge", according to the <keyword id="20613906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Economic-Survey" source="keywords">Economic Survey</keyword> 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday. Reaching net zero means achieving a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of these gases removed from the atmosphere by either natural processes, such as photosynthesis, or by other methods of carbon capture and storage. The consolidated report on the state of the economy in the previous year said India's climate action has been largely financed through domestic resources and the flow of international finance has been "very limited". Citing the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) data, the report said bridging the "substantial funding gap" necessitates allocating 2.5 per cent of India's annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to <keyword id="20018880" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-finance" source="keywords">green finance</keyword>. "Preliminary estimates indicate that the aggregate investment support required by India to achieve its 2070 net-zero target will be USD 1.4 trillion at an average of USD 28 billion per year. Raising financial resources for <keyword id="19907392" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="keywords">climate change</keyword> adaptation and mitigation actions of this scale is an unprecedented challenge," the document read. A 2022 report by the Climate Policy Initiative found that domestic sources accounted for the majority of green finance in India, at 87 per cent and 83 per cent in financial years 2019 and 2020 respectively. While international sources are increasing (from 13 per cent in FY 2019 to 17 per cent in FY 2020), the economic survey said they are still insufficient to meet India's net-zero target. "Mobilising substantial capital from traditional sources presents multifaceted challenges in emerging economies like India. The perceived sovereign risks associated with emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) and the capital-intensive nature of such projects, coupled with lengthy gestation periods and evolving regulatory frameworks, can create misalignment between investor expectations and project timelines," the government said. The economic survey also noted that the flows of global capital to <keyword id="20200084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="developing-countries" source="keywords">developing countries</keyword> have been impeded by high costs of capital. Despite securing a good rating on its green-bond framework, Indian sovereign <keyword id="20177085" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-bonds" source="keywords">green bonds</keyword> have hardly received any "greenium" from private investors. It is more a "wall of capital" than a "flood of capital" that is waiting to fund energy transition in EMDEs. It is just not mobile. All of these together have severely hampered the flow of finance for green-transition projects, the survey said. "Greenium" or green premium refers to the savings an issuer of a green bond realises on the associated coupon payment because the bond is green. Financial support to help middle-income and poor countries fight climate change will be at the centre of this year's UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the world will reach the deadline to agree on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) -- the new amount developed nations must mobilise every year starting 2025 to support climate action in developing countries. But achieving consensus will not be easy, given the disappointing progress made on major conflict points at the mid-year UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany. At the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, rich nations pledged to provide USD 100 billion annually from 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, delays in achieving this goal have eroded trust between developed and developing nations and have been a continual source of contention during annual climate negotiations. In May, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) claimed that developed countries had met the long-standing USD 100 billion-a-year promise by providing nearly USD 116 billion in <keyword id="20000757" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-finance" source="keywords">climate finance</keyword> to developing countries in 2022, with nearly 70 per cent of the money given in the form of loans. However, international non-profit organisation Oxfam last week said climate finance provided by rich countries in 2022 totalled no more than USD 35 billion. Developing nations argue that they cannot be expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions faster if developed countries -- historically responsible for climate change -- do not provide enhanced financial support. Rich countries are now expected to raise more than USD 100 billion, with developing countries, including India, demanding trillions of dollars to tackle climate change.

Raising massive financial resources for net-zero goal unprecedented challenge: Economic Survey

The <keyword id="19895344" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Enforcement-Directorate" source="keywords">Enforcement Directorate</keyword> alleged Saturday that the CPI(M) in <keyword id="19896018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala" source="keywords">Kerala</keyword> was holding proceeds of <keyword id="19899231" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="money-laundering" source="keywords">money laundering</keyword>, as it attached a land parcel and <keyword id="20202062" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bank-deposits" source="keywords">bank deposits</keyword> worth Rs 73 lakh of the political party in a <keyword id="19913348" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="probe" source="keywords">probe</keyword> linked to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank "scam". Assets worth Rs 28.65 crore of various individuals and entities linked to the case have also been attached by the federal agency after a provisional order under the <keyword id="19912399" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prevention-of-money-laundering-act" source="keywords">Prevention of Money Laundering Act</keyword> (PMLA) was issued. Official sources said the party may be nam<keyword id="19956083" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ED" source="keywords">ed</keyword> as an accused in the next supplementary chargesheet to be filed in this case. If so, it will be the second political party to be arraigned as accused in a money laundering investigation after the Aam Aadmi Party. AAP has recently been named by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case. The CPI(M) vehemently denied the charges of wrongdoing and money laundering. The attached assets include 18 immovable properties, valued at Rs 28.65 crore, consisting of lands and buildings in Kerala of the beneficiaries of the "scam", including an immovable property worth Rs 10 lakh registered in the name of a district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for a party office, the ED said in a statement. The attachment also includes eight movable properties, including a credit balance of Rs 63.62 lakh in eight "undisclosed" bank accounts of the CPI(M) local area committees in Thrissur, it added. The agency claimed that the CPI(M) received these funds from the beneficiaries as donations through the governing body and the party is "in possession of proceeds of crime" which has been invested in the purchase of immovable properties and credited to its five bank accounts in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. The bank is promoted by the party. The CPI(M) rejected the ED charges, saying it would legally and politically fight any move by the agency to arraign it in the case linked to the alleged multi-crore Karuvannur bank scam. Party state secretary M V Govindan alleged that the ED was trying to make opposition parties and their leaders accused in various cases due to political reasons. He also accused the central agency of attempting to create a smokescreen as it had failed to collect any evidence against the party. The ED believes that the land parcel attached by it was meant for the CPI(M) party office and was purchased using alleged kickbacks from the loanees or beneficiaries of the loans sanctioned by the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank. The agency has relied on the "confessional" statements of at least two accused in this case who claimed in their statements recorded before a judicial magistrate that the purported irregularities in the bank were orchestrated at the behest of CPI(M) Thrissur district committee leaders. The ED alleged that "bogus loans" were sanctioned by the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank on the same property multiple times without the knowledge of members of the society. "Investigation found benami loans were sanctioned to non-members against inflated property valuations in the names of other members and such loan funds were siphoned off and laundered by the accused beneficiaries," it said, adding that the loan amounts were disbursed in cash to avoid a money trail. "Such benami and illegal loans were sanctioned at the behest of the secretary and the governing body of the society in connivance with the then-bank manager, at the behest of the Thrissur district committee, CPI(M). "In return, the Thrissur district committee, CPI(M), collected money in the form of donations and salary cut from the beneficiaries and society committee members into their undisclosed and illegally opened bank accounts in the same society," the agency said. These funds, according to the ED, were utilised for the purchase of land worth Rs 10 lakh by the secretary of the Thrissur district committee of the CPI(M) for the construction of the party office, which has now been attached as proceeds of crime. Govindan said it has been a decades-long practice of registering the office and other assets of party units in the name of the respective district committees. What role does the party have in the office constructed by one of its local committees, he asked. But the ED is now trying to tarnish the image of the CPI(M) in the name of the assets of one such party unit, Govindan claimed. "We will fight it legally and politically. We haven't got any notice in this regard so far," he told reporters. The ED filed a chargesheet in this case against 55 accused entities in November last year. The money laundering case stems from 16 FIRs registered by the <keyword id="20086884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kerala-police" source="keywords">Kerala Police</keyword> (<keyword id="20146853" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crime-branch" source="keywords">Crime Branch</keyword>) in Thrissur in 2010. Four people have been arrested by the ED in this case so far.

After AAP, ED attaches land, bank deposits of CPI(M); says party holding proceeds of money laundering

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The CEO of <keyword id="438627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="norges-bank" source="Orion">Norges Bank</keyword> told the FT that he thinks <keyword id="30790" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="americans" source="Orion">Americans</keyword> work much harder than <keyword id="65559" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="europeans" source="Orion">Europeans</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="11356850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nicolai-Tangen" source="Orion">Nicolai Tangen</keyword> made the remark as he explained the sovereign fund's push toward investing in the US.</li></ul>Europeans are less ambitious and don't work as hard as Americans, said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-bets-10-million-against-elon-musk-ai-prediction-2024-4">Nicolai Tangen</a>, the CEO of Norway's $1.6 trillion oil fund. "There's a mindset issue in terms of acceptance of mistakes and risks. You go bust in America, you get another chance. In Europe, you're dead," Tangen told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/58fe78bb-1077-4d32-b048-7d69f9d18809">The Financial Times</a> in an interview published on Wednesday. "We are not very ambitious," Tangen added. "I should be careful about talking about work-life balance, but the Americans just work harder." Tangen made these remarks as he gave an overview of his firm's push toward investments in the US, which now make up half of the equities held by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-artificial-intelligence-investing-strategy-technique-norges-bank-investment-management-2023-6">Norges Bank.</a> Norges Bank is in charge of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which manages revenue from the country's massive oil and gas reserves and holds some $1.6 trillion in assets. Tangen said his firm is watching the US 2024 elections closely and told the FT that it is concerned about the possible outcomes, though he declined to share more. "We just invest in America in great companies for the long term. It won't have any implications for how we allocate our capital," he said of the election, per the FT. "We have nearly half the assets in America, we will stay invested in America." The CEO added that US shares have been beating Europe's because American companies are innovating and growing technology faster than their European counterparts, telling the FT that he felt the trend is "worrisome." About <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbim.no/en/the-fund/investments/#/">71% of Norges Bank's holdings</a> are in equities, with large stakes in US companies, including $19.2 billion in Alphabet, $17.4 billion in Amazon, and $33 billion in Apple. Norges Bank is the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-artificial-intelligence-investing-strategy-technique-norges-bank-investment-management-2023-6">world's largest sovereign wealth fund</a> and the largest single owner in the global stock market. The firm invests in 72 countries and is estimated to own 1.5% of all shares worldwide. It's true that Americans, on average, work longer hours than their European counterparts, according to data collected from 2019 to 2022 by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/data/hours-worked/average-annual-hours-actually-worked_data-00303-en">Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.</a> The average polled US worker said they worked 1,811 hours a year, or about 35 hours a week, compared to an average of 1,571 hours a year among workers in European Union countries. That's also compared to a total average of 1,752 hours a year documented by the OECD. <keyword id="21428168" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uk-employees" source="Orion">UK employees</keyword> said in the same survey that they worked 1,532 hours a year, while German employees say they've worked the least out of all OECD countries — at an average of 1,341 hours a year, or about 26 hours a week.

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