Financial Crime World

Jordanian Regulators Crack Down on Anti-Money Laundering and Know-Your-Customer Compliance

Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Jordan

In a bid to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, Jordan’s regulatory authorities have issued new guidelines for businesses operating in the country. The move aims to ensure that companies comply with strict anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.

New Guidelines for Businesses

According to the new guidelines, all businesses must verify the identity of their customers using a specialized document verification service. This includes checks on security features such as:

  • Holograms
  • Tapered/crumpled edges
  • Doctored elements
  • Form inconsistencies
  • Document expiration
  • MRZ (Machine Readable Zone)
  • Reflected colors and microprinting

Know-Your-Business (KYB) Process

The regulations also require businesses to extract information from commercial registers or comparable official registers through the KYB process. This includes verifying the identity of legal persons or partnerships.

Ongoing Verification

Jordanian regulators have emphasized the importance of ongoing verification throughout the customer relationship. Businesses are required to verify customer identities multiple times, as per regulations, and must apply Identity Verification procedures when onboarding new customers.

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Measures

The guidelines also stress the need for EDD measures for high-risk customers, including:

  • Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
  • Individuals holding public office
  • Exhibiting a higher risk profile

Shufti Pro, a leading AML/KYC solutions provider, offers an AML Screening service that screens individual ID attributes against watchlists of global regulatory authorities, foreign and domestic databases, compromised PEPs and sanctioned individuals.

Outsourcing Compliance

Businesses may also rely on external services to fulfill their AML/KYC obligations, but they will remain liable for maintaining regulatory compliance and fulfilling AML and KYC requirements.

Data Retention

Moreover, businesses are required to retain data for at least five years as part of their AML and KYC obligations for due diligence purposes.

Aim of the Guidelines

The new guidelines aim to ensure that Jordanian businesses comply with international standards and best practices in AML/KYC, thereby reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.