Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010

Chapter 6

Internal policies and procedures, training and record keeping

Internal policies and procedures and training.

54.— (1) A designated person shall adopt policies and procedures, in relation to the designated person’s business, to prevent and detect the commission of money laundering and terrorist financing.

(2) In particular, a designated person shall adopt policies and procedures to be followed by persons involved in the conduct of the designated person’s business, that specify the designated person’s obligations under this Part, including—

(a) the assessment and management of risks of money laundering or terrorist financing, and

(b) internal controls, including internal reporting procedures for the purposes of Chapter 4 .

(3) The policies and procedures referred to in subsection (2) include policies and procedures dealing with—

(a) the identification and scrutiny of complex or large transactions, unusual patterns of transactions that have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose and any other activity that the designated person has reasonable grounds to regard as particularly likely, by its nature, to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing, and

(b) measures to be taken to prevent the use for money laundering or terrorist financing of transactions or products that could favour or facilitate anonymity.

(4) The designated person shall also adopt policies and procedures in relation to the monitoring and management of compliance with, and the internal communication of, the policies and procedures referred to in subsection (2).

(5) In preparing policies and procedures under this section, the designated person shall have regard to any relevant guidelines applying in relation to the designated person that have been approved under section 107 .

(6) A designated person shall ensure that persons involved in the conduct of the designated person’s business are—

(a) instructed on the law relating to money laundering and terrorist financing, and

(b) provided with ongoing training on identifying a transaction or other activity that may be related to money laundering or terrorist financing, and on how to proceed once such a transaction or activity is identified.

(7) A reference in this section to persons involved in the conduct of a designated person’s business includes a reference to directors and other officers, and employees, of the designated person.

(8) A designated person who fails to comply with this section commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months (or both), or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years (or both).

(9) The obligations imposed on a designated person under this section do not apply to a designated person who is an employee of another designated person.

(10) Subsection (6) does not apply to a designated person who is an individual and carries on business alone as a designated person.