Financial Crime World

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Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Requirements in Angola

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General Requirements

All entities providing financial services are subject to AML requirements. They must have an AML programme in place, which includes:

  • Risk assessment and mitigation strategies: Identifying potential risks and implementing measures to mitigate them.
  • Compliance officer: Appointing a compliance officer to oversee the AML programme.
  • Verification processes: Verifying customer identities and conducting regular reviews of customer relationships.
  • Independent control structure: Establishing an independent control structure to ensure the effectiveness of the AML programme.

Recordkeeping and Reporting Large Currency Transactions

Subject entities must report to the UIF all transactions in physical currency (irrespective of the currency’s country):

  • Amounting to USD 15,000 or more: Transactions exceeding this threshold must be reported.
  • Other specific thresholds: Other thresholds apply for exchanging low-value banknotes for high-value banknotes, exchanging different currencies, dealing with securities, and transferring funds without a bank account.

Routine Transactions Reporting

Besides large cash transactions, subject entities must report suspicious transactions, irrespective of the amounts involved, to the UIF.

Cross-Border Transactions Reporting

Please refer to questions 3.6 and 3.7 above and question 3.17 below for further information on cross-border transactions reporting.

Customer Identification and Due Diligence Requirements

Subject entities are obliged to comply with customer identification and due diligence requirements:

  • Verifying the identity of natural persons: Verifying the identities of individuals.
  • Verifying the incorporation of legal entities: Verifying the incorporation of companies and other legal entities.
  • Identifying trusts and other legal arrangements: Identifying trusts and other legal arrangements, verifying the identity of their trustees, settlors, and beneficiaries.
  • Obtaining information on the purpose and nature of the business relationship: Obtaining information about the purpose and nature of the customer relationship.

Special or Enhanced Due Diligence Requirements

Applicable in cases where:

  • The client’s or operation’s nature, complexity, volume, non-habituality, lack of economic reasoning, susceptibility of being deemed as a crime, or any other high-risk factor so justifies: The customer or operation presents a high risk due to its nature, complexity, volume, or lack of economic reasoning.
  • Distance operations, operations that may favour anonymity, operations involving politically exposed people, operations of banking correspondence with banking institutions located abroad: Operations that involve distance relationships, anonymity, politically exposed persons, or banking correspondence with foreign institutions.

Shell Banks

Banks and payment service providers are prevented from establishing correspondent relationships with shell banks.

Reporting Suspicious Activity

Subject entities are obliged to report all committed, attempted or ongoing activities they know, or reasonably suspect, are connected with the offences of money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or any other criminal offence.