Video on when to file STRs

Video on when to file STRs

Video on when to file STRs

This video highlights the importance of knowing red flags around suspicious activities and suspicious transactions. It will help you distinguish between suspicious activities and suspicious transactions. Further, it provides information about the regulatory reporting requirement in the form of a Suspicious Transaction Report. It will help you understand when you are supposed to file STR with the goAML portal maintained by the UAE, FIU.

  • What is STR
  • Who is obligated to submit STR with goAML portal maintained by the FIU, UAE
  • The distinction between a Suspicious Activity and a Suspicious Transaction (SAR vs STR)
  • Red flags indicating a suspicious transaction
  • STR submission

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Video on Elements of an effective AML Policy and Procedures

element AML Policy Video

Video on Elements of an effective AML Policy and Procedures

Video on Elements of an effective AML Policy and Procedures

This video will help you understand the elements of an effective AML policy and procedures. Regarding AML/CFT policy and procedures, it is important to get it approved by top management. The video touches upon the important aspects around risk identification, risk-based approach, customer onboarding, identification and reporting of suspicious transactions, other reporting requirements, record keeping, governance, and targeted financial sanctions (TFS).

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Video on Sanction Screening in UAE

Video on Sanction Screening in UAE

Video on Sanction Screening in UAE

This video will help you understand the basic concepts around sanctions screening, what it is, what sanctions list to include as per UAE AML requirements, how to conduct sanctions screening, and more:

  • What is sanctions screening
  • UAE Local List and UNSC List
  • When to conduct sanctions check
  • The requirements around the EOCN mailing list subscription
  • Sanctions screening process
  • What to while dealing with sanctioned individuals and entities
  • Partial Name Match and Fund Freeze Report Submission with the FIU goAML portal

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Video on Know Your Customer Process under UAE AML Regulations

Video on Know Your Customer Process under UAE AML Regulations

Video on Know Your Customer Process under UAE AML Regulations

This video focuses on the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements under the UAE AML Regulations. It helps you understand various concepts and requirements around customer identification and customer verification. The video highlights various important aspects of KYC:

  • What is Know Your Customer (KYC)
  • KYC requirements for individual customers
  • KYC requirements for corporates
  • Why maintain a standardized KYC form

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Video on AML Compliance Officer under UAE AML Regulations

Video on AML Compliance Officer under UAE AML Regulations

Video on AML Compliance Officer under UAE AML Regulations

The ultimate responsibility to comply with UAE AML regulations remains with the top management, but the AML Compliance Officer is responsible for implementing the AML/CFT program in the company, imparting training to the staff, submitting regulatory reports, and overseeing the compliance function. This video will help you understand the role of the AML Compliance Officer in the entity.

  • Key responsibilities of the AML Compliance Officer
  • AML/CFT program development and its implementation
  • Regular updates to the AML/CFT policies and procedures
  • AML training program
  • Suspicious Transactions Report (STR) and other regulatory reporting
  • AML/CFT Record Keeping

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Video on AML Business Risk Assessment (BRA)

Video on AML Business Risk Assessment (BRA)

Video on AML Business Risk Assessment (BRA)

This video will help you understand the key concepts surrounding the AML Business Risk Assessment (BRA), which is also known as the Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment, Firm-Wide Risk Assessment, Entity-Wide Risk Assessment, or simply ML/TF Risk Assessment.

  • The need for AML Business Risk Assessment (BRA)
  • Risk-Based Approach
  • Risk appetite
  • Risk Factors to consider while performing EWRA
  • The concept of gross risk and how to arrive at it
  • Evaluation of controls and their effectiveness
  • The concept of net risk or residual risk and how to arrive at it

Chapters:

  • 0:00 Business risk assessment introduction
  • 0:13 Overview of Business risk assessment
  • 1:05 Evaluating risk scenario
  • 1:51 Likelihood of occurrence and impact on business
  • 2:34 Inherent Risk
  • 2:57 Risk parameters analysis
  • 3:15 Business risk assessment exercise

Related Infographics

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Video on Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and PEP screening requirements in UAE

Political PEP

Video on Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and PEP screening requirements in UAE

Video on Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and PEP screening requirements in UAE

This video will help you grasp the essential concepts around:

  • Who the politically exposed person is, the Definition of PEP
  • Who is covered within the definition of PEP, including the person himself and his associates
  • What action you should take once you know someone is a PEP or associated with a PEP
  • How to deal with domestic PEPs, foreign PEPs, and heads of international organizations.
  • Why PEPs are treated as high-risk customers
  • What are the deciding factors to conclude that a PEP carries high-risk
  • How to manage ML/TF risks around PEPs
  • What are the requirements for carrying out Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) when working with Politically Exposed Persons
  • Ongoing monitoring of transactions with PEPs

Chapters:

  • 0:00 PEP Introduction
  • 0:25 Who is PEP?
  • 0:44 associated PEP
  • 0:54 3 categories of PEP
  • 1:06 Domestic PEP
  • 1:12 Foreign PEP
  • 1:18 Head of International Organization
  • 1:29 High risk
  • 1:38 Factors considered while determining PEP
  • 2:11 MLFT Risk with associated PEP
  • 2:34 KYC & EDD
  • 2:41 Treated as High risk
  • 3:15 Regarding PEP

Related Laws, Guidelines, Rules, and Regulations

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Navigating AML/CFT Challenges: Recognizing Common Typologies

Navigating AML/CFT Challenges: Recognizing Common Typologies

Navigating AML/CFT Challenges: Recognizing Common Typologies

The Financial Institutions, Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must comply with AML regulations and develop a robust AML compliance framework dedicated to identifying and preventing money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes. In this course of AML compliance and safeguarding the business, the entities must understand the ML/FT vulnerabilities associated with the nature of customers and products/services it deals with and stay alert to spot and curb these threats.

Some common ML/FT Typologies are:

  • Trade-based money laundering: A money laundering technique used to transfer illicit money, disguising it in the name of commercial transactions. It includes over or under-invoicing, over or under-shipment, bogus shipping documents without actual delivery, etc.
  • Underground banking/unlicensed remittance services: Illegal and informal mechanisms (generally based on networks of trust) used to remit funds without actually moving the funds. This is also known as “Hawala service provider”.
  • Use of shell/shelf companies: A technique where legal structures are developed on paper, without any physical structure, employees or intent to carry out actual business activities. These entities are used to obscure the identity of the beneficial owners and move the criminal proceeds between the source and the shell structure, creating a complex web of transactions during the layering stage of money laundering.
  • Smurfing: Smurfing is a structuring technique where a large cash amount is split into numerous smaller denominations – deposited in various accounts opened under different names to avoid any AML/CFT inquiries or reporting.
  • Exploiting NPO: As per FATF evaluation, it is observed that NPOs are increasingly being misused to raise donations and transfer funds to terrorist organizations.
  • Nominee arrangements: Here, some third parties (generally professionals like lawyers and company service providers) are named as the beneficial owners of the controlling parties on legal documentation to conceal the actual beneficial owners.
  • Mingling Funds (Business Investment): During the integration stage of the money laundering process, the illicit funds are intentionally mingled with the legal business ventures to make separating legit and illegal funds difficult.
  • Commodity Exchanges (Barter): Bartering the commodities is a standard ML/FT technique used to carry out transactions without touching the financial systems and, thus, apparently dodging the application of AML/CFT measures. For example, buying real estate property in exchange for diamonds and precious metals.

Here is an infographic discussing some of the widespread money laundering and terrorism financing-related typologies, which the regulated entities must consider and factor in while devising their AML compliance program.

AML UAE is here to help you understand these typologies and personalise the AML policies and procedures. We craft a comprehensive AML program for your business to ensure that you timely identify any ML/FT instances attempted through your business and take appropriate action to prevent and report the same.

Related Posts

FATF Travel Rule and Know Your Corresponding VASPs: Key Compliance Requirements for VASP in UAE

Pathik Shah

Table of Contents

Protect your business with reliable and effective AML strategies with AML UAE.

FATF Travel Rule and Know Your Corresponding VASPs: Key Compliance Requirements for VASP in UAE

The acceptance of virtual assets is rapidly increasing worldwide, including in the UAE. This has resulted in the establishment of a number of businesses – Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), to facilitate virtual asset transactions from one person or wallet to another.

The pace at which the virtual asset transactions are executed and the degree of anonymity involved pose significant financial crime risks for the VASPs. To combat this risk, the UAE AML regulations mandate the VASPs to develop AML programs following the local regulations and FATF Recommendations.

Accordingly, as one of the anti-financial crime measures, the VASPs in UAE must comply with the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Travel Rule, setting up a mechanism for the smooth exchange of information about the originator and beneficiary amongst the VASPs. The FATF Travel Rule compliance is incomplete without the Know Your Corresponding VASP (KYV) process.

In this article, we shall discuss what the FATF Travel Rule and “Know Your Corresponding VASP” are and how to go about complying with them same.

Understanding FATF Travel Rule

As one of the Recommendations to combat money laundering and terrorism financing risk, the FATF issued international guidelines for VASPs to obtain information about the parties (originator and the beneficiary) involved in the virtual asset (VA) transaction and exchange the same with the counterparty at the receiving end.

FATF Travel Rule aims to create transparency around the customers involved in VA transactions to detect and prevent the exploitation of the virtual asset ecosystem for money laundering and terrorism financing.

What is the FATF Travel Rule?

As one of the Recommendations to combat money laundering and terrorism financing risk, the FATF issued international guidelines for VASPs to obtain information about the parties (originator and the beneficiary) involved in the virtual asset (VA) transaction and exchange the same with the counterparty at the receiving end.

FATF Travel Rule aims to create transparency around the customers involved in VA transactions to detect and prevent the exploitation of the virtual asset ecosystem for money laundering and terrorism financing

What are the core components of FATF Travel Rule compliance?

The VASP must adhere to the following fundamental elements of the FATF Travel Rule:

Collecting the information:

The ordering or the originating VASP (from whom the originator initiates the virtual asset transaction) is required to collect the necessary information about the parties to the transactions.

In addition to the information collected as part of the Know Your Customer process, the VASP must obtain the name and address of the originator and beneficiary of the virtual asset transaction and the identification number of the VA wallets used in the transaction.

In cases where the VASP cannot identify or verify the information about the originator or beneficiary, the transaction must not be executed, and the necessity for reporting the proposed transfer as a suspicious activity must be deliberated.

Sharing the information:

The originating VASP must share the collected information with the receiving or beneficiary VASP when the VA transfer is initiated. Thus, every virtual asset transfer must be accompanied by the originator and beneficiary’s information.

Verifying the customer’s information:

Verifying the collected information is critical. The ordering or originating VASP must use reliable sources to verify the originator’s information. The responsibility of verifying the beneficiary details lies with the beneficiary or receiving VASP before concluding the VA transfer. In the course of verification, the VASPs must check the parties and wallets for association with the sanctions lists or any blacklist or for involvement with any financial crime.

Maintaining adequate records:

The VASPs – sender and recipient – must maintain adequate records of the information collected and exchanged between them. The same must be made available to the authorities upon request.

As part of implementing the FATF Travel Rule, before exchanging information about the customers – originator and beneficiary- the VASPs must first identify the counterparty VASP.

AML Record Keeping

Understanding Know Your Corresponding VASP (KYV)

When the transactions involving virtual assets (digital tokens, cryptocurrencies, Non-Fungible Tokens, etc.) are executed, there could be the involvement of more than one VASP facilitating the transaction (such as virtual asset exchange, wallet provider, VA administrator or custodian service provider, etc.). In such cases, for one VASP, conducting KYV is equally important as the performance of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process.

KYV is also known as Counterparty VASP Due Diligence, focusing on identifying the counterparty VASP and evaluating the potential risk of being exploited in the particular VA transaction involving a given counterparty.

KYV is similar to KYC, with the difference in the party being identified – customer in the case of KYC, while it is corresponding VASP in the case of KYV.

Know Your Customer - KYC Requirements under AML regulations in UAE

How to implement the KYV process?

As part of KYV, the VASP must identify the counterparty VASP involved in the transactions, including its legal status and ownership and control structure. It is crucial to ensure that the transaction involves an adequately licensed counterparty. To verify the same, necessary documents such as business licenses and corporate documents must be sought.

Further, assessing the level of regulatory supervision, the degree of applicability and compliance with AML regulations by the counterparty VASP is essential. For this, the VASP may request the counterparty’s AML/CFT policies and procedures.

Details about the VASP’s place of operations and the domains managed must be obtained, including information on the volume of high-risk transactions handled by the VASP. Further, wherever possible, the name must be verified with the jurisdictional list of regulated VASPs.

The counterparty VASP and the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) must also be screened against the sanctions list and identify any adverse media associated with financial crime.

With the counterparty’s information, a risk assessment must be conducted to identify and evaluate the risk it poses to the business.

The KYV process must be completed before initiating the first VA transfer or sharing customer information.

Best practices to effectively ensure compliance with FATF Travel Rule

The VASP in UAE must consider the following aspects to ensure no originator or beneficiary of the virtual asset transfer is unidentified and collected information is exchanged smoothly, complying with FATF Travel Rule requirements.

Technological support

The VASPs must deploy advanced tools and solutions that enable compliance with Travel Rule requirements. Such technology must be based on some common universal language, which also empowers the smooth exchange of information between foreign counterparties.

Further, the software that supports real-time identification and verification of the customer, originator and beneficiary details must be deployed to overcome the vulnerabilities posed by the speed of VA transfer.

FATF Travel Rule and Know Your Corresponding VASPs

Mandating originator and beneficiary details:

As part of the Customer Due Diligence process, the collection of information about the originator and beneficiary must be mandated. The system must be configured to restrict the VA transfer processing must the originator and beneficiary be identified and reasonably verified.

No VA transfer with the required information:

The VASP must configure necessary rules and logic in the systems itself, ensuring that no virtual asset transfer is initiated without attaching the originator and beneficiary identification details.

Making KYV part of the AML Program:

To ensure adequate compliance with the FATF Travel Rule and identify the counterparty, a robust KYV Program must be designed and part of the AML compliance framework – policies, procedures and controls. This includes defining a comprehensive “Know Your VASP” Form, capturing the relevant fields and completing the same before the information is exchanged with the counterparty for the first time.

Checklist for implementing an effective AML Program

AML UAE - Your professional aid to comply with FATF Travel Rule and KYV requirements!

With years of experience, knowledge of AML regulations and an understanding of the virtual asset segment, AML UAE is your go-to-partner for your AML/CFT compliance needs. We can assist you in assessing the risk and personalising the AML program, covering policies and procedures around the FATF Travel Rule and Know Your Corresponding VASP compliance.

Together, let’s strengthen the virtual asset network to avoid its exploitation by financial criminals.

Make significant progress in your fight
against financial crimes

With the best consulting support from AML UAE.

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About the Author

Jyoti Maheshwari

CAMS, ACA

Jyoti has over 11 years of hands-on experience in regulatory compliance, policymaking, risk management, technology consultancy, and implementation. She holds vast experience with Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations and helps companies deploy adequate mitigation measures and comply with legal requirements. Jyoti has been instrumental in optimizing business processes, documenting business requirements, preparing FRD, BRD, and SRS, and implementing IT solutions.

Reach Out to Jyoti

The Complete eBook on Layering in Money Laundering

The Complete eBook on Layering in Money Laundering

The Complete eBook on Layering in Money Laundering

Money laundering is a complicated process that criminals use to process money obtained from illegal activities and make it appear clean or legitimate.

Layering is the second stage of the money laundering process. In this stage, the illegally obtained funds are routed through complex layers of transactions to distance them from the criminal source, making it difficult to detect the origin of illegal money.

In this booklet, we explained layering inside-out by going through each of its aspects. We discussed the following:

  • Common layering techniques frequently used in money laundering
  • Measures that one should take to identify and prevent the layering of illegal funds
  • Insights into the difficulties associated with detecting and combatting layering
  • Understanding red flags associated with the layering stage
  • Using AI-based AML software to effectively identify and prevent layering attempts

Money laundering activities are on the rise, and it is necessary to detect the same at the initial stages – such as during the layering stage before the detection of illicit funds becomes difficult. Businesses must develop a robust AML compliance framework, following the applicable AML regulations and the international recommendations from bodies like FATF, MENAFATF, and the Egmont Group of FIUs and safeguard the integrity of the financial system.

To have a comprehensive understanding of layering, its techniques, and effective mitigation strategies, explore this eBook.

Our timely and accurate AML consulting services

For your smooth journey towards your goals

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