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RBI directs banks to update Taliban sanctions records
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks and financial institutions to follow amendments to the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban Sanctions List. The update, issued on July 31, 2026, covers five…
The Story in Brief
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks and financial institutions to follow amendments to the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban Sanctions List. The update, issued on July 31, 2026, covers five entries and follows information shared by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Under Section 51A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, regulated entities must ensure they do not hold accounts in the names of people or entities on UNSC terrorism-related lists. The amended entries include Taliban-linked individuals such as Hamdullah Nomani, Abdul-Haq Wassiq and Noor Mohammad Saqib. The sanctions include an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The Indian Opinion
Claims that such circulars immediately freeze every Afghan-linked account would be misleading. The RBI instruction applies to names on the specified UNSC list, not to nationality alone, and places compliance duties on regulated entities. Equally, treating the notice as a routine paperwork exercise misses the legal force of Section 51A. The practical test is whether financial institutions identify and block accounts matching all five amended entries, including aliases and updated identity details.
Source: rbi.org.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
