Ireland’s current anti-money laundering legislation, the Criminal Justice Act 1994 is about to be repealed and replaced with new consolidating legislation and new industry guidance notes.
The consolidating legislation and guidance notes will give full effect to the Third Money Laundering Directive (2005/60/EC).
The Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice have recently published draft legislation to transpose the 3rd Anti-Money Laundering Directive (2005/60/EC).
The new law will strengthen Ireland’s anti money laundering and anti-terrorist funding legal framework and will require the Financial Regulator to administratively sanction financial service providers who fail to establish the infrastructure necessary to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
As under the current regime, all financial service providers and other designated bodies will need to continue to:
- Identify their customers
- Report suspicious transactions to the Gárda Síochána / Revenue Commissioners
- Keep records
- Have procedures in place, including staff training.
While the new legislation permits designated bodies to use a 'risk based approach' in their AML-CTF procedures, it also imposes some additional requirements in relation to identifying politically exposed persons, monitoring accounts on an ongoing basis and moving to a higher level of vigilence where appropriate.
The new law will apply to:
1. Authorised or registered entities subject to various levels of ongoing supervision including:
- Credit Institutions and electronic money institutions
- Credit unions
- Retail credit firms
- Moneylenders
- Insurance undertakings and insurance intermediaries
- Investment business firms
- Collective investment schemes
- Funds and Fund services providers
- Bureaux de Change and Money transmission Businesses
- Mortgage intermediaries
2. To any entities, regardless of regulatory status, engaged in:
- taking deposits
- lending
- leasing
- money transmission
- issuing or administering means of payment
- providing guarantees
- trading in money market instruments, foreign exchange, futures and options, exchange rate instruments or transferable securities
- participating in securities issues
- advising on capital structure, or industrial strategy or advising on or providing services relating to mergers and the purchase of undertakings
- money broking
- portfolio management and advice
- safekeeping and administration of securities
- credit reference services
- safe custody services