New Anti-Money Laundering Rules in Belgium: Identification Data, Verification, and “Standard Risk” Cases

Under the latest Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation in Belgium, financial institutions face new identification and verification rules. This article discusses the new regulations focusing on standard risk cases, including identification data collection and verification requirements.

Standard Risk Cases

Definition of Standard Risk and Low ML/FT Risk

The term “standard risk” refers to any situation that is not classified as high risk based on the individual risk assessment. Low ML/FT (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) risk situations may only be excluded from the standard risk category if they have been specifically identified through the overall risk assessment.

Collection of Relaxed Due Diligence Procedures

Financial institutions are required to outline the relaxed due diligence procedures that can be applied when the individual risk assessment indicates the risk level is low.

Identification Data Collection

According to Article 26, § 2, of the AML Law, financial institutions need to collect specific identification data for individuals for verification purposes.

Natural Persons

• Country of birth
• Address
• Place and date of birth of beneficial owners

Financial institutions must collect identification data “to the extent possible.” For cases where this information cannot be obtained, they must establish procedures.

Transfers of Funds

The European Regulation on transfers of funds mandates specific identification information to accompany transfers:

1. payer’s name
2. payment account number
3. one of the following:
   • payer’s address
   • official personal document number
   • customer identification number
   • date and place of birth

Identity Verification

Identity Data Verification Requirement

All collected identification data must be checked against supporting documents or reliable and independent sources to confirm their accuracy. This includes verification of the payer’s name, address, date, and place of birth when sending a transfer.

Supporting Documents and Reliable and Independent Sources

Financial institutions must define rules concerning the supporting documents and reliable and independent sources of information used for identity verification. The rules should ensure a sufficient degree of certainty based on the identified risk level.

Accepted Documents

Some documents, such as identity cards and passports, are considered more reliable than others. In Belgium, identity cards issued by authorities and foreign passports following thorough checks are suitable supporting documents.

Verifying Identity Remotely

When verifying identity remotely, financial institutions can use the microprocessor of a Belgian electronic identity card in conjunction with checkdoc.be to ensure legitimacy.

Electronic Identification Solutions

Financial institutions must analyze the technology’s reliability against the objectives set out in Article 27, § 1, of the Anti-Money Laundering Law when using electronic identification solutions instead of traditional methods.