Financial Crime World

Anti-Money Laundering Requirements in Liechtenstein

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Entities Subject to Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

The following entities are subject to anti-money laundering requirements in Liechtenstein:

  • Banks and investment firms
  • E-money businesses
  • Undertakings for collective investment that market their unit certificates or units
  • Insurance undertakings
  • The Liechtensteinische Post Aktiengesellschaft (insofar as it pursues activities subject to an obligation to report to the FMA)
  • Exchange offices (including TT exchange service providers)
  • Insurance brokers
  • Payment service providers
  • Asset management companies
  • Providers of certain services for legal entities
  • Casinos and providers of online gaming
  • Lawyers and law firms (insofar as they provide tax advice or assist in the planning and execution of financial or real estate transactions)
  • Members of tax consultancy professions and external bookkeepers
  • Real estate agents
  • Persons trading in goods (insofar as payment is made in cash or by means of a crypto-asset and the amount involved is CHF 10,000 or more)
  • TT service providers who publicly offer tokens in their own name or in the name of their client (token issuer)
  • Providers who safeguard a token or key that allows for disposal over tokens for their clients (depositary)
  • Exchange legal tender against crypto-assets and vice versa as well as crypto-assets for crypto-assets (exchange service provider)
  • Receive tokens on the condition that they can dispose of them at their own discretion or on the instructions of clients, but must retransfer tokens after a certain period of time (token loan company)
  • Operate a trading platform for crypto-assets (trading platform operator)
  • Manage portfolios on a discretionary client-by-client basis under a mandate from the client, provided that such portfolios contain one or more crypto-assets, or offer or make personalised recommendations to clients regarding one or more transactions relating to crypto-assets or the use of crypto-asset services (administrator for crypto-assets)
  • Initiate the disposal of one or more crypto-assets from one TT Identifier to another on behalf of customers (transfer service provider)
  • TT Agents who distribute or provide TT services in Liechtenstein on a professional basis in the name of and for the account of a foreign TT service provider, insofar as they provide or distribute TT services for the aforementioned TT service providers, provided that they must be registered according to the Token and TT Service Provider Act (also known as the Blockchain Act)

Duties of Persons Subject to Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

Persons subject to anti-money laundering requirements shall perform the following duties:

  • Identification and verification of the identity of the contracting party
  • Identification and verification of the identity of the beneficial owner
  • Identification and verification of the identity of the recipient of distributions from legal entities established on a discretionary basis, and the beneficiary of life assurance policies and other insurances with investment-related objectives
  • Establishment of a business profile
  • Supervision of business relationships at a level that is commensurate with the risk

Monitoring Business Relationships

Pursuant to Art. 9 SPG, persons subject to anti-money laundering requirements shall conduct timely risk-adequate monitoring of their business relationships, including transactions processed during the business relationship, in order to ensure that the business relationship history and transactions are consistent with their knowledge of the customer and the customer’s business relationship, thus complying with the business profile to be prepared in accordance with Art. 8 SPG.

Additionally, persons subject to anti-money laundering requirements must always be alert to changes in the customer’s behaviour or deviations from typical behavioural patterns, and actively enquire into changes related to the information in the business profile.

When circumstances arise or transactions take place that deviate from the business profile, persons subject to anti-money laundering requirements shall carry out simple investigations with reasonable effort. In cases where circumstances arise or transactions take place that give rise to suspicion that any assets are connected to money laundering, predicate offences of money laundering, organised crime or terror financing, persons subject to anti-money laundering requirements must carry out special investigations.