Regulatory Body of Oman
01
National Centre for Financial Information (NCFI) - Sultanate of Oman
The Inspector General of Police and Customs has administrative and financial autonomy over the National Centre for Financial Information. The Centre's mission is to receive, analyse, and request reports and information for activities that are suspected of being related to or linked to money laundering or terrorism financing. It also receives information on cash transactions, wire transfers, cross-border declarations, and other supervisory authority threshold reports.
Governmental and non-governmental institutions in the Sultanate must cooperate with the Centre in carrying out its duties, and must provide it with information related to reports and information it receives from within and outside the Sultanate that it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities, without invoking confidentiality provisions.
Designated Services' Basic Responsibilities
Designated services in Sultanate of Oman should have a compliance program in place to protect themselves from money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation, as well as to strengthen their integrity and contribute to their safety and security. This program should ensure the following:
- The risks of money laundering and terrorism financing are understood, and where appropriate, domestic actions to combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation are coordinated.
- Prepared to provide appropriate information, financial intelligence, and evidence to facilitate international cooperation and action against criminals and their assets.
- Appoint a Money Laundering Reporting Officer position (MLRO).
- The designated Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) must supervise and monitor compliance with AML/CFT requirements commensurate with their risks, as well as investigate and escalate institutional suspicions to the National Centre for Financial Information (NCFI).
- Financial institutions and DNFBPs implement adequate anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures and report suspicious transactions.
- Legal persons and arrangements are protected from being used to launder money or finance terrorism, and information on their beneficial ownership is freely available to competent authorities.
Doubtful Patterns Detection
The compliance program detects suspicions that should be reported to the Sultanate of Oman's National Centre for Financial Information (NCFI).
The following elements, but not limited to, make up a Suspicious Financial Transaction:
- Transactions that differ from the relevant customer's profile, characteristics, or usual transaction pattern.
- Transactions that are reasonably suspected of being made with the intent of avoiding the reporting requirements for due diligence.
- Financial transactions involving funds allegedly obtained through criminal activity.
- Cash transactions that are unusually large in comparison to the customer's usual transactions.
- Transactions that are carried out in a small number of instances but with a high frequency (structuring).
- Transactions carried out under several different names for the benefit of a single individual (smurfing).