Commission Directive 2006/70/ECShow full title

Article 4 U.K. Financial activity on an occasional or very limited basis

1. For the purposes of Article 2(2) of Directive 2005/60/EC, Member States may, subject to paragraph 2 of this Article, consider legal or natural persons who engage in a financial activity which fulfils all the following criteria as not falling within the scope of Article 3(1) or (2) of that Directive:

(a) the financial activity is limited in absolute terms;

(b) the financial activity is limited on a transaction basis;

(c) the financial activity is not the main activity;

(d) the financial activity is ancillary and directly related to the main activity;

(e) with the exception of the activity referred to in point (3)(e) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2005/60/EC, the main activity is not an activity mentioned in Article 2(1) of that Directive;

(f) the financial activity is provided only to the customers of the main activity and is not generally offered to the public.

For the purposes of point (a) of the first subparagraph, the total turnover of the financial activity may not exceed a threshold which must be sufficiently low. That threshold shall be established at national level, depending on the type of financial activity.

For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, Member States shall apply a maximum threshold per customer and single transaction, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or in several operations which appear to be linked. That threshold shall be established at national level, depending on the type of financial activity. It shall be sufficiently low in order to ensure that the types of transactions in question are an impractical and inefficient method for laundering money or for terrorist financing, and shall not exceed EUR 1 000.

For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph, Member States shall require that the turnover of the financial activity does not exceed 5 % of the total turnover of the legal or natural person concerned.

2. In assessing the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing occurring for the purposes of Article 2(2) of Directive 2005/60/EC, Member States shall pay special attention to any financial activity which is regarded as particularly likely, by its nature, to be used or abused for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes.

Member States shall not consider that the financial activities referred to in paragraph 1 represent a low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing if there is information available to suggest that the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing may not be low.

3. Any decision pursuant to Article 2(2) of Directive 2005/60/EC shall state the reasons on which it is based. Member States shall provide for the possibility of withdrawing that decision should circumstances change.

4. Member States shall establish risk-based monitoring activities or take any other adequate measures to ensure that the exemption granted by decisions pursuant to Article 2(2) of Directive 2005/60/EC is not abused by possible money launderers or financers of terrorism.