Belgium’s AML/CTF supervisors
The Belgian Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF-CFI), the administrative body established by the Law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing and on the restriction of the use of cash 2017 (AML Law), oversees processing and disseminating information with a view to combating ML/TF.
The supervisory authorities keep an eye on adherence to the AML Law. The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), the main regulatory body for Belgium, is one of these supervisory authorities and oversees monitoring the AML/CTF compliance of most financial institutions.
How do you comply with AML/CTF regulations in Belgium?
For the regulated entities, the AML Law provides several obligations. These consist of:
The duty to create and execute internal control measures, rules, and procedures that cover:
- Risk management procedures, customer and transaction due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, record-keeping, internal control, and management of compliance with AML Law requirements
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As necessary, considering the nature and size of the compelled entity:
- An independent audit role tasked with evaluating internal control measures, policies, and procedures
- Processes for determining if employees have sufficient integrity
- Staff education regarding the AML Law, ML/TF risks, spotting potential ML/TF related transactions, and the next steps to be taken in such a situation
An obligation to designate the person in charge of directing compliance with the implementation of the AML Law's provisions
The obligation to designate one or more people to oversee the execution of the policies, procedures, and internal control measures
Establishing mechanisms that enable workers to report violations of the AML Law through an impartial channel and in an anonymous manner
Conducting an overall risk assessment to determine and evaluate the ML/TF hazards to which they are exposed
Customer due diligence obligations including:
- Identifying and verifying the identity of those who enter business relationships with the obliged entity and those who occasionally carry out specific duties without a business relationship:
- One or more transactions that are linked up to a total of EUR 10,000 or more
- If the obliged entity receives the amounts in question in cash or in the form of anonymous electronic money, one or more credit transfers or transfers of funds that are linked totalling more than EUR 1,000 are prohibited
- When necessary, locating and confirming the legitimacy of the beneficial owners and customer agent(s)
- Evaluating the features of the client and the goal and planned nature of the working relationship or sporadic transaction
- Based on a unique ML/TF risk assessment, doing due diligence for sporadic transactions as well as ongoing due diligence for transactions made during a commercial partnership
- Taking extra precautions where necessary, such as when dealing with politically exposed individuals (PEPs), their family members, and people who are near them
Establishing mechanisms that enable workers to report violations of the AML Law through an impartial channel and in an anonymous manner
Duty to maintain records of the information gathered during client and transaction due diligence for ten years following the end of a commercial relationship or following the date of a rare transaction
What are my AML/CTF reporting obligations?
Reporting suspicious transactions
The required entities must notify CTIF-CFI if they know, suspect, or have good reason to suspect that:
Any quantity of money is connected to money laundering or terrorism financing
Any transactions or attempted transactions that are related to ML/TF
Other than the instances mentioned in (1) and (2), that a fact that they are aware of is connected to ML/TF
Entities must also report to CTIF-CFI any suspicious funds, transactions, or attempted transactions that they become aware of because of business they conduct in another EU (European Union) Member State without having a subsidiary, branch, or other type of establishment, through representatives such as agents or distributors.
