The Government has decided to get a fresh study conducted on unaccounted income/ wealth both inside and outside the country brining out the nature of activities engendering money laundering and its ramifications on national security. The proposal was approved by the Government in January, 2011. The study will be conducted by three national institutes with inputs from various ministries/ departments. The institutes have been finalized and the study will be assigned to them after making necessary provisions. The institutes will be given a time frame of eighteen months to complete the study.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha today.

Assessment of unaccounted wealth initiated to map money laundering activities and national security implications through institutional research. The Government approved a coordinated, timebound institutional study to assess unaccounted income/wealth inside and outside the country, identify activities and money laundering mechanisms, and evaluate national security ramifications; three national institutes will undertake the research with inputs from relevant ministries and an eighteen month completion timeline.