The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties on Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank of Rs 5 crore, Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively for violation of anti-money laundering norms, Times of India reported. Noting that no money laundering appears to have taken place, RBI on Monday said that a conclusive inference can be drawn only by an end-to-end investigation by tax and enforcement agencies.

The penalties imposed by RBI are the highest so far and come in the wake of finance secretary Rajiv Takru called for levying fines running into hundreds of crores. In the past, RBI had imposed penalties of up to Rs 5 lakh per offence. Since then, the level of penalties permitted has been increased following an amendment to the Banking Regulation Act.

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