Enhanced due diligence — section 12AA

This one is not written up yet

The definition above is the short version. A full explanation — how it works, a worked example and the exam traps — is still being written. In the meantime the chapter below covers it in context.

Written up from the same chapter

• Adjudicating AuthorityThe quasi-judicial body constituted by the Central Government under Section 6 of the PMLA that issues notices, adjudicates attachments of property and confirms confiscations.
• Beneficial ownerThe investor who owns dematerialised securities for every practical purpose — the depository is the registered owner on the company's books, but the dividends, bonus, rights and votes are the investor's.
• Client Identification ProcedureThe written procedure each registered intermediary must frame and run to establish the true identity of a client — at onboarding, during transactions, and whenever earlier identification data is doubted.
• Clients of Special CategoryA named list of client types — NRIs, HNIs, trusts, NGOs, PEPs, non-face-to-face clients and others — on whom SEBI requires enhanced due diligence rather than the ordinary standard.
• Designated DirectorThe person a reporting entity designates to ensure overall compliance with Chapter IV of the PMLA — and, where the entity is located in an IFSC, the person heading that entity in India.
• Politically exposed personsA higher-risk class of client that SEBI treats as a client of special category: the intermediary must detect them, obtain senior management approval to deal with them, and verify their source of funds and wealth.