What are some of the key KYC/AML regulations in your jurisdiction that clients should be aware of?
Australia has strengthened its fight against money laundering and terrorism financing with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is the Australian Government agency responsible for ensuring compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
The AML/CTF Act was developed in close consultation with industry stakeholders from 2004 to 2006, and regulates the financial, gambling, remittance and bullion sectors that provide designated services listed in the AML/CTF Act.
This list of regulated persons is set to be extended to include Accountants and other professionals during phase 2 (expected to come online in 2019).
The AML/CTF Act provides the means to help detect and deter money laundering and terrorism financing. It also provides financial intelligence to revenue and law enforcement agencies.
The act imposes five key obligations on regulated businesses:
1. enrolment — all regulated businesses need to enrol with AUSTRAC and provide prescribed enrolment details
2. establishing and maintaining an AML/CTF program — to help identify, mitigate and manage the money laundering and terrorism financing risks a business faces
3. customer due diligence — identifying and verifying the customer’s identity, and ongoing monitoring of transactions
4. reporting — notifying authorities of suspicious matters, threshold transactions and international funds transfer instructions
5. record keeping — businesses are required to keep records of transactions, customer identifi- cation, electronic funds transfer instructions and details of AML/ CTF programs.
As a corporate service provider(CSP) we require certain KYC documents and information to be provided by clients, dependant on the type of client and services requested. In addition, registration of the company in Australia will require certain proof of identity documents to be provided to the respective government agencies. We assist our clients to to select and provide the appropriate documentation and explain how it is to be certified to meet the government agency or financial institution requirements.