Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010

Relationships between credit institutions and shell banks.

59.— (1) A credit institution shall not enter into a correspondent banking relationship with a shell bank.

(2) A credit institution that has entered into a correspondent banking relationship with a shell bank before the commencement of this section shall not continue that relationship.

(3) A credit institution shall not engage in or continue a correspondent banking relationship with a bank that the institution knows permits its accounts to be used by a shell bank.

(4) A credit institution shall apply appropriate measures to ensure that it does not enter into or continue a correspondent banking relationship that permits its accounts to be used by a shell bank.

(5) A credit institution that 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).

(6) In this section, “shell bank” means a credit institution (or a body corporate that is engaged in activities equivalent to a credit institution) that—

(a) does not have a physical presence, involving meaningful decision-making and management, in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated,

(b) is not authorised to operate, and is not subject to supervision, as a credit institution (or equivalent) in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated, and

(c) is not affiliated with another body corporate that—

(i) has a physical presence, involving meaningful decision-making and management, in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated, and

(ii) is authorised to operate, and is subject to supervision, as a credit institution or an insurance undertaking, in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.