Belgium’s AML/CTF Supervisors Issue Guidelines for Compliance

The Belgian Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF-CFI) and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), Belgium’s main regulatory body, have issued guidelines to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CTF) regulations.

Obligations for Regulated Entities

For regulated entities, including banks, credit institutions, insurance companies, investment firms, and other financial institutions, the AML Law provides several obligations:

• Internal Control Measures: Create and implement internal control measures, rules, and procedures that cover risk management, customer due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, record-keeping, internal control, and compliance with AML Law requirements.
• Designation of Compliance Officer: Designate a person in charge of directing compliance with the implementation of the AML Law’s provisions.
• Anonymous Reporting Mechanism: Establish mechanisms for workers to report violations of the AML Law through an impartial channel and in an anonymous manner.
• Risk Assessment: Conduct an overall risk assessment to determine and evaluate ML/TF hazards to which they are exposed.

Customer Due Diligence

Regulated entities must also conduct customer due diligence, including:

• Identifying and Verifying Identity: Identifying and verifying the identity of those who enter business relationships or carry out specific duties without a business relationship.
• Evaluating Client Features: Evaluating the features of the client and the goal and planned nature of the working relationship or sporadic transaction.

Suspicious Transaction Reporting

In addition, regulated entities must report suspicious transactions to CTIF-CFI if they know, suspect, or have good reason to suspect that any quantity of money is connected to:

• Money Laundering: Money laundering
• Terrorism Financing: Terrorism financing
• ML/TF Facts: A fact that they are aware of is connected to ML/TF.

Reporting Suspicious Funds and Transactions

Entities must also report to CTIF-CFI any suspicious funds, transactions, or attempted transactions that they become aware of because of business conducted in another EU Member State without having a subsidiary, branch, or other type of establishment, through representatives such as agents or distributors.