Obligations of Financial Institutions

Obligations of Financial Institutions

Part III and IV of the MLPA stipulates specific obligations of financial institutions:

• Keep relevant records (i.e. “business transactions records”) for a minimum period of 5 years;
• Develop clear customer acceptance policies and procedures;
• Proper identification (commonly known as “know your customer” or “KYC”) is essential;
• Establish a systemic procedure for identifying new customers and should not establish a relationship until the identity of a new customer is satisfactorily verified;
• Document and enforce policies for identification of customers and those acting on their behalf; and
• Extra precautions enforced on transactions received/sent to jurisdictions that do not have adequate AML systems in place.
• Report any suspicious to the FIU as soon as possible after forming a suspicion BUT no later than 2(Two) working days