AML/CFT Obligations

Important information on AML/CFT legal obligations

You have made the first step to being compliant.  Now that you are registered, there are other legal obligations you are required to implement.  The FIU has summed these into seven areas:

  1. Compliance Officer and alternate Compliance Officer
  2. Compliance Programme
  3. AML/CFT Training
  4. Risk Based Approach
  5. Internal Controls
  6. Reporting Obligations:
    1. Suspicious Transaction/Activity
    2. Terrorist Funds
  7. Independent Testing

Record Keeping

Financial institutions and listed businesses must retain the following records in electronic or written form for a period of six (6) years:

  1. All domestic and international transactions;
  2. Identification data obtained through the customer due diligence process;
  3. Account files and business correspondence; and
  4. The results of analysis undertaken related to an account transaction.

This obligation will enable the financial institutions and listed business to comply with lawful requests from information from auditors, other competent authorities and law enforcement authorities for the purposes of criminal investigations or prosecution of persons charged with criminal offences.

There are registers that the Compliance Officer of the financial institution and listed business should maintain.  These registers should contain information that can be accessed by senior management or the auditor.  Therefore, sensitive information on suspects or confidential correspondence must not be included in the register.  Some of these registers include:

No Register Recommended Content
1 Training Register Date and time of training;
Name of facilitator;
Name of participant;
Topics covered
Signature of attendee
2 Internal STR Register Date submitted by staff;
Nature of suspicion;
Value of transaction;
Date reviewed by Compliance Officer
3 STR Register Date submitted to FIU;
Nature of suspicion;
Value of transaction;
Signature of Compliance Officer
4 LEA Register Date and nature of enquiry;
Name of agency and enquiring officer;
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