Financial Crime World

Enhanced Due Diligence Measures to Identify Individuals in the Dominican Republic

The government of the Dominican Republic has introduced enhanced due diligence measures to identify individuals who pose a higher risk of involvement in bribery, corruption, and money laundering. These measures are designed to mitigate the risk of financial crimes and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

What is Enhanced Due Diligence?

Enhanced due diligence (EDD) is an additional layer of scrutiny applied to certain individuals or entities to ensure they are not involved in illegal activities. In the Dominican Republic, EDD is required for:

  • Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
  • High-risk customers
  • Individuals who may pose a higher risk of money laundering

How Does Enhanced Due Diligence Work?

EDD involves a thorough screening process of an individual’s identity attributes against watchlists and databases, including:

  • Global regulatory authorities
  • Foreign and domestic databases
  • Compromised PEPs
  • Sanctioned individuals

This service highlights the category of the PEP based on the degree of risk they pose and identifies any immediate family members or close associates.

When to Deploy Enhanced Due Diligence Measures

EDD measures should be deployed in multiple instances, including:

  • Onboarding a new customer
  • Before or after establishing a relationship with a customer
  • Dealing with transaction data

The application and choice of when to deploy EDD procedures depend on the requirements of the business and its conveyance to Shufti Pro.

Third-Party Services

Dominican regulations allow businesses to seek the services of third-party providers to apply measures of due diligence. However, businesses remain liable for:

  • Maintaining all compliance
  • Fulfilling anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) obligations

Record Retention

Businesses are required to retain data for no less than seven years as part of their AML and KYC obligations for due diligence. In the case where this information is processed, collected, and managed by a relevant third-party provider, businesses are liable to:

  • Collect all necessary information without undue delay
  • Retain data for no less than seven years

By implementing these enhanced due diligence measures, businesses in the Dominican Republic can ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and reduce the risk of financial crimes.