NISM Series XXIV Syllabus: AML and CFT Provisions in Securities Markets
All 8 chapters of the AML and CFT Provisions in Securities Markets workbook, and what each one covers.
NISM Series XXIV (Series 24) is the AML and CFT Provisions in Securities Markets exam. AML means anti money laundering, CFT means combating the financing of terrorism, and PF means proliferation financing, which is money for weapons of mass destruction. The curriculum has 8 chapters: four on the law (the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, its Rules, the scheduled offences and the global framework), three on SEBI's guidelines including KYC, and one of real enforcement cases.
NISM does not publish a weightage for any chapter. The table below follows NISM's curriculum page: the chapter names are NISM's, and the right column is what each chapter's listed sections cover. This is not the Securities Market Foundation exam; that is Series XII.
All 8 chapters at a glance
Chapter titles as NISM's curriculum names them, with the sections each one lists.
| Chapter | What it covers |
|---|---|
| I. Introduction to AML, CFT and PF | What money laundering is, the process of laundering, global initiatives against it and the Indian initiatives that followed |
| II. Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 | The PMLA itself, maintenance of records and furnishing of reports to FIU-IND, and the main authorities entrusted with investigation |
| III. The PML (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 | Introduction to the Rules, maintenance of records of transactions, and the Digital KYC procedure |
| IV. Scheduled Offences | The concept of an offence and the list of scheduled offences under the PMLA Schedule |
| V. AML, CFT and PF Guidelines | Introduction to the AML and CFT guidelines and the AML/CFT/PF guidelines themselves |
| VI. SEBI Guidelines for AML Standards, CFT and PF | SEBI's guidelines on AML, CFT and PF for securities market intermediaries, and written anti money laundering procedures |
| VII. SEBI Guidelines for KYC Norms in Securities Market | SEBI's KYC norms, the features of an intermediary's online KYC app, the SARAL account opening form for resident individuals, the KYC Registration Agency (KRA) and guidelines for intermediaries |
| VIII. Discussion on PMLA related Cases | Eight enforcement matters: FIU-IND vs Way2Wealth Brokers, SEBI vs SKSE Securities, SEBI vs Raima Equities, SEBI vs Marfatia Stock Broking, SEBI vs Shreepati Holdings and Finance, BOI Shareholding (BOISL) vs SEBI, FIU-IND vs Paytm Payments Bank, FIU-IND vs Bybit |
Chapters I to IV: the law
Chapter I is the vocabulary. Laundering is taught as three stages: placement (cash enters the system), layering (it is moved to hide its source) and integration (it returns looking clean). The global part covers the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), whose recommendations India's law follows.
Chapter II is the Act. Section 3 defines the offence: any involvement with the proceeds of crime, including concealing, possessing, acquiring or using them, or projecting them as untainted. Section 4 sets the punishment at rigorous imprisonment of 3 to 7 years plus a fine. Section 12 makes every reporting entity (a bank, financial institution or intermediary) keep records of transactions and furnish information to the Director of FIU-IND, the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Chapter III is the Rules made under the Act. Rule 3 lists the transactions a reporting entity must record, starting with cash transactions above ₹10 lakh and series of connected cash transactions that individually fall below it. Rule 8 sets the calendar: monthly reports reach the Director by the 15th of the following month, and a suspicious transaction report (STR) goes promptly once the Principal Officer is satisfied. Annexure 1 lays out the Digital KYC process.
Chapter IV is the Schedule. Under Section 2(1)(y), a scheduled offence is one listed in Part A, one listed in Part B if the value involved is ₹1 crore or more, or one in Part C (cross-border offences). For a securities professional the lines that matter are Section 12A read with Section 24 of the SEBI Act (manipulative devices and insider trading) and Section 447 of the Companies Act 2013 (fraud), both in Part A.
Chapters V to VII: SEBI's guidelines and KYC
Chapter V turns the law into the duties an intermediary performs: a written AML policy, customer due diligence, risk categorisation of clients, monitoring, reporting to FIU-IND and record retention. Chapter VI is SEBI's version, issued as its master circular on AML standards, CFT and PF for securities market intermediaries. Learn the section on written anti money laundering procedures closely: it says what the policy must contain.
Chapter VII is KYC. It covers SEBI's KYC norms, what an intermediary's online KYC app must do, the SARAL form for resident individuals opening a basic account, and the KYC Registration Agency (KRA) that stores verified KYC and shares it across intermediaries.
Free account, this exam preselected.
Chapter VIII: the eight cases
Read each order for the rule that was broken and the penalty that followed, not for the story.
- check_circleFIU-IND vs Way2Wealth Brokers: a broker and its reporting duties to FIU-IND.
- check_circleSEBI vs SKSE Securities, SEBI vs Raima Equities and SEBI vs Marfatia Stock Broking: SEBI action against brokers over AML and KYC compliance.
- check_circleSEBI vs Shreepati Holdings and Finance, and BOI Shareholding (BOISL) vs SEBI: how far SEBI's AML guidelines reach.
- check_circleFIU-IND vs Paytm Payments Bank and FIU-IND vs Bybit: FIU-IND's penalties on a payments bank and a virtual digital asset service provider. The same law reaches far beyond brokers.
How XXIV tests the syllabus
The paper is 50 MCQs of 1 mark each in 60 minutes, with no negative marking, taken from home under remote proctoring. Law chapters produce recall questions: which section defines the offence, what threshold makes a Part B offence scheduled, when the monthly report is due. Guideline chapters produce duty questions: what a written AML policy must contain. The case chapter asks who acted against whom and for what. The trap is mixing the Act with the Rules: offence and punishment live in the PMLA; thresholds, reporting dates and KYC procedure live in the 2005 Rules.
FAQs
How many chapters are there in NISM Series XXIV?expand_more
8, from Introduction to AML, CFT and PF (chapter I) to Discussion on PMLA related Cases (chapter VIII), as listed on NISM's curriculum page.
What is the chapter-wise weightage for NISM Series 24?expand_more
NISM does not publish one. Any chapter percentage you see for XXIV is not from NISM. The paper has only 50 questions, so study every chapter.
Is NISM Series XXIV the Securities Market Foundation exam?expand_more
No. Series XXIV is AML and CFT Provisions in Securities Markets. The Securities Market Foundation exam is Series XII. Some third-party pages mix the two up.
Can I take the NISM XXIV exam from home?expand_more
Yes. NISM conducts this exam in a remote proctored environment, on your own computer with a webcam. The exam-pattern and registration pages cover the logistics.
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