New guidelines prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing

In February the Ministry of Finance has published guidelines for the implementation of legal obligations concerning the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

These obligations ensue from the (1 Aug. 2008) Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act and the Sanctions Act. These guidelines deal with several subjects such as the objectives of both acts, client screening on the basis of a risk-oriented approach, reporting of unusual transactions and sanctions. The guidelines are not a legally binding document, but serve to assist institutions with how to legally explain and apply the legal obligations in practice. The Ministry wants to carefully examine the guidelines at regular intervals and update them if necessary. The guidelines were announced in August last year.