Under Section 12 of PMLA, banking companies, financial institutions, and intermediaries are required to maintain records of transactions for a period of:

Section 12(2) of PMLA, 2002 mandates that the records referred to in Section 12(1) - covering transaction records and client identity - shall be maintained for a period of ten years from the date of cessation of the transactions between the clients and the banking company, financial institution, or intermediary. The critical phrase here is 'date of cessation of transactions,' not the date of the transaction itself. This is an important distinction for exam purposes. The ten-year record retention obligation is crucial for anti-money laundering compliance and is also consistent with international FATF recommendations. Failure to comply attracts fine under Section 13 ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 per failure.