Financial Crime World

AMF Publishes New Guidelines on AML/CFT Best Practices for French Southern Territories

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has released new guidelines for professionals subject to Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations in the French Southern Territories. The revised policy aims to provide a risk-based approach to AML/CFT prevention, outlining key obligations and best practices for entities under its supervision.

Key Guidelines

The AMF has published four new guidelines:

  • Position-Recommendation DOC-2019-15: Guidelines on the Risk-Based Approach to AML/CFT
    • Covers risk assessment, due diligence on fund assets and clients, outsourcing processes, and automated systems
  • Position-recommendation DOC-2019-16: Guidelines on Obligations of Vigilance with Respect to Clients and Beneficial Owners
    • Focuses on obligations related to client identification, due diligence, and monitoring
  • Position DOC-2019-17: Guidelines on the Concept of Politically Exposed Persons
    • Explains the definition and characteristics of politically exposed persons (PEPs) and their enhanced due diligence requirements
  • Position DOC-2019-18: Guidelines on the Obligation to Report Suspicions to TRACFIN
    • Outlines the procedures for reporting suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing

These guidelines integrate the joint guidelines of European supervisory authorities on simplified and enhanced customer due diligence and risk factors.

Purpose and Implementation

The new guidelines are designed to assist professionals in preparing and implementing their AML/CFT prevention systems, ensuring compliance with national regulations transposing the fourth AML directive. The AMF has stated that these guidelines will be updated when the texts for the fifth AML directive are published.

Entities subject to AML/CFT regulations in the French Southern Territories are advised to familiarize themselves with the new guidelines and implement the recommended best practices to minimize the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.