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Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (Text with EEA relevance)

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After exit day there will be three versions of this legislation to consult for different purposes. The legislation.gov.uk version is the version that applies in the UK. The EU Version currently on EUR-lex is the version that currently applies in the EU i.e you may need this if you operate a business in the EU.

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EU Directives are being published on this site to aid cross referencing from UK legislation. After IP completion day (31 December 2020 11pm) no further amendments will be applied to this version.

SECTION 1 U.K. General provisions

Article 10U.K.

[F11. Member States shall prohibit their credit institutions and financial institutions from keeping anonymous accounts, anonymous passbooks or anonymous safe-deposit boxes. Member States shall, in any event, require that the owners and beneficiaries of existing anonymous accounts, anonymous passbooks or anonymous safe-deposit boxes be subject to customer due diligence measures no later than 10 January 2019 and in any event before such accounts, passbooks or deposit boxes are used in any way.]

2.Member States shall take measures to prevent misuse of bearer shares and bearer share warrants.

Article 11U.K.

Member States shall ensure that obliged entities apply customer due diligence measures in the following circumstances:

(a)

when establishing a business relationship;

(b)

when carrying out an occasional transaction that:

(i)

amounts to EUR 15 000 or more, whether that transaction is carried out in a single operation or in several operations which appear to be linked; or

(ii)

constitutes a transfer of funds, as defined in point (9) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), exceeding EUR 1 000;

(c)

in the case of persons trading in goods, when carrying out occasional transactions in cash amounting to EUR 10 000 or more, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or in several operations which appear to be linked;

(d)

for providers of gambling services, upon the collection of winnings, the wagering of a stake, or both, when carrying out transactions amounting to EUR 2 000 or more, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or in several operations which appear to be linked;

(e)

when there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing, regardless of any derogation, exemption or threshold;

(f)

when there are doubts about the veracity or adequacy of previously obtained customer identification data.

Article 12U.K.

1.By way of derogation from points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) and Article 14, and based on an appropriate risk assessment which demonstrates a low risk, a Member State may allow obliged entities not to apply certain customer due diligence measures with respect to electronic money, where all of the following risk-mitigating conditions are met:

[F1(a) the payment instrument is not reloadable, or has a maximum monthly payment transactions limit of EUR 150 which can be used only in that Member State;

(b) the maximum amount stored electronically does not exceed EUR 150;]

(c)the payment instrument is used exclusively to purchase goods or services;

(d)the payment instrument cannot be funded with anonymous electronic money;

(e)the issuer carries out sufficient monitoring of the transactions or business relationship to enable the detection of unusual or suspicious transactions.

[ F2. . . . .]

[F12. Member States shall ensure that the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article is not applicable in the case of redemption in cash or cash withdrawal of the monetary value of the electronic money where the amount redeemed exceeds EUR 50, or in the case of remote payment transactions as defined in point (6) of Article 4 of the Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) where the amount paid exceeds EUR 50 per transaction.]

[F33. Member States shall ensure that credit institutions and financial institutions acting as acquirers only accept payments carried out with anonymous prepaid cards issued in third countries where such cards meet requirements equivalent to those set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Member States may decide not to accept on their territory payments carried out by using anonymous prepaid cards.]

Article 13U.K.

1.Customer due diligence measures shall comprise:

[F1(a) identifying the customer and verifying the customer’s identity on the basis of documents, data or information obtained from a reliable and independent source, including, where available, electronic identification means, relevant trust services as set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) or any other secure, remote or electronic identification process regulated, recognised, approved or accepted by the relevant national authorities;]

(b)identifying the beneficial owner and taking reasonable measures to verify that person's identity so that the obliged entity is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is, including, as regards legal persons, trusts, companies, foundations and similar legal arrangements, taking reasonable measures to understand the ownership and control structure of the customer[F1.] [F3Where the beneficial owner identified is the senior managing official as referred to in Article 3(6)(a) (ii), obliged entities shall take the necessary reasonable measures to verify the identity of the natural person who holds the position of senior managing official and shall keep records of the actions taken as well as any difficulties encountered during the verification process;]

(c)assessing and, as appropriate, obtaining information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship;

(d)conducting ongoing monitoring of the business relationship including scrutiny of transactions undertaken throughout the course of that relationship to ensure that the transactions being conducted are consistent with the obliged entity's knowledge of the customer, the business and risk profile, including where necessary the source of funds and ensuring that the documents, data or information held are kept up-to-date.

When performing the measures referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph, obliged entities shall also verify that any person purporting to act on behalf of the customer is so authorised and identify and verify the identity of that person.

2.Member States shall ensure that obliged entities apply each of the customer due diligence requirements laid down in paragraph 1. However, obliged entities may determine the extent of such measures on a risk-sensitive basis.

3.Member States shall require that obliged entities take into account at least the variables set out in Annex I when assessing the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

4.Member States shall ensure that obliged entities are able to demonstrate to competent authorities or self-regulatory bodies that the measures are appropriate in view of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing that have been identified.

5.For life or other investment-related insurance business, Member States shall ensure that, in addition to the customer due diligence measures required for the customer and the beneficial owner, credit institutions and financial institutions conduct the following customer due diligence measures on the beneficiaries of life insurance and other investment-related insurance policies, as soon as the beneficiaries are identified or designated:

(a)in the case of beneficiaries that are identified as specifically named persons or legal arrangements, taking the name of the person;

(b)in the case of beneficiaries that are designated by characteristics or by class or by other means, obtaining sufficient information concerning those beneficiaries to satisfy the credit institutions or financial institution that it will be able to establish the identity of the beneficiary at the time of the payout.

With regard to points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph, the verification of the identity of the beneficiaries shall take place at the time of the payout. In the case of assignment, in whole or in part, of the life or other investment-related insurance to a third party, credit institutions and financial institutions aware of the assignment shall identify the beneficial owner at the time of the assignment to the natural or legal person or legal arrangement receiving for its own benefit the value of the policy assigned.

6.In the case of beneficiaries of trusts or of similar legal arrangements that are designated by particular characteristics or class, an obliged entity shall obtain sufficient information concerning the beneficiary to satisfy the obliged entity that it will be able to establish the identity of the beneficiary at the time of the payout or at the time of the exercise by the beneficiary of its vested rights.

Article 14U.K.

1.Member States shall require that verification of the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner take place before the establishment of a business relationship or the carrying out of the transaction. [F3Whenever entering into a new business relationship with a corporate or other legal entity, or a trust or a legal arrangement having a structure or functions similar to trusts (similar legal arrangement) which are subject to the registration of beneficial ownership information pursuant to Article 30 or 31, the obliged entities shall collect proof of registration or an excerpt of the register.]

2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may allow verification of the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner to be completed during the establishment of a business relationship if necessary so as not to interrupt the normal conduct of business and where there is little risk of money laundering or terrorist financing. In such situations, those procedures shall be completed as soon as practicable after initial contact.

3.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may allow the opening of an account with a credit institution or financial institution, including accounts that permit transactions in transferable securities, provided that there are adequate safeguards in place to ensure that transactions are not carried out by the customer or on its behalf until full compliance with the customer due diligence requirements laid down in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) is obtained.

4.Member States shall require that, where an obliged entity is unable to comply with the customer due diligence requirements laid down in point (a), (b) or (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1), it shall not carry out a transaction through a bank account, establish a business relationship or carry out the transaction, and shall terminate the business relationship and consider making a suspicious transaction report to the FIU in relation to the customer in accordance with Article 33.

Member States shall not apply the first subparagraph to notaries, other independent legal professionals, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors only to the strict extent that those persons ascertain the legal position of their client, or perform the task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings.

[F15. Member States shall require that obliged entities apply the customer due diligence measures not only to all new customers but also at appropriate times to existing customers on a risk-sensitive basis, or when the relevant circumstances of a customer change, or when the obliged entity has any legal duty in the course of the relevant calendar year to contact the customer for the purpose of reviewing any relevant information relating to the beneficial owner(s), or if the obliged entity has had this duty under Council Directive 2011/16/EU (4) .]

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on information accompanying transfers of funds and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 (see page 1 of this Official Journal).

(2)

[F1Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC ( OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35 ).]

(3)

[F1Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC ( OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73 ).]

(4)

[F1Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC ( OJ L 64, 11.3.2011, p. 1 ).]

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