The Central Bank of Kuwait has amended the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing instructions for exchange companies, indicating that it has approved updates that would enhance and clarify the requirements that were revealed after follow-up in the last period.
The Central Bank pointed out that banking and financial institutions are the entities that money launderers and terrorist financiers want to deal with most, explaining that to protect these institutions from illegal practices measures must be taken to ensure that they are not exploited in carrying out such operations, reports Al-Rai daily.
The sources indicated that, according to the update, exchange companies subject to the supervision of the CBK must prepare a written study, updated every two years, dealing with all risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing that the company may be exposed to through its activity, while setting appropriate and necessary procedures to monitor and manage each level of them to reduce from its impact on the company’s activity, including the existence of an actual activity for the client in which there are clear and legitimate economic purposes that are consistent with what he is authorized to do.
As for a person representing an institution/company in dealing with the exchange company, an official authorization must be presented in accordance with legal documents or judicial rulings proving that, and in the event that there are doubts about whether this natural person is the one who controls or is responsible for managing the legal person, consecutive steps must be taken to reach the actual beneficiary.
In the event that the original person who has management control is not identified, any available means are used to reach his identity, and if the person is not identified, the procedures intended to reach the original persons who occupy senior management positions should be determined, and through them control over the person’s management is established.
For a cross-border transfer, the exchange company that acts as an intermediary in executing the transfer must keep all electronic transfer data including those of the person who ordered the transfer and the beneficiary.
