AUTORIDADES COMPETENTES PARA LA PRÁCTICA Y OBTENCIÓN DE LA PRUEBA

INTRODUCTION

109. The success of the AML and CFT programme depends to a large extent on the integrity of employees, and as such, financial institutions should establish and

implement appropriate policies and procedures86 to ensure that employees are “fit and proper” persons.

110. To this end, potential employees should be subject to a comprehensive screening process, which should involve a thorough investigation of the potential employee’s background, honesty, competence and integrity.

111. Financial institutions should also institute processes geared towards ensuring the continued maintenance of a high level of integrity and competence among staff. These may include: -

(i) Establishment of a Code of Ethics to guide employee conduct;

(ii) Regular review of employee’s performance and adherence to internal policies and procedures including codes of conduct and AML/CFT requirements; (iii) Imposition of appropriate disciplinary actions for breaches of the institution’s

AML and CFT policies; and

(iv) Close scrutiny and investigation of employees whose lifestyles cannot be supported by his or her known income.

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING

112. In order to ensure full implementation of the procedures, recommendations, and requirements contained in these Guidance Notes, the staff of financial institutions must be made fully aware of the background against which the Guidance Notes have been issued, and the serious nature of money laundering crimes and terrorism financing activities. Furthermore, efforts must be made to ensure that all staff understands the basic provisions of the MLA88, MLR and TPA.

113. Members of staff must also be sensitised as to their personal obligations under the MLA and the TPA and the fact that they can be held personally liable for failing to report relevant information to the Designated Authority, or otherwise failing to carry out their responsibilities under the relevant statutes.

114. All financial institutions must therefore introduce programmes to ensure that all members of staff, at all levels of the organization, are informed of their responsibilities, and encouraged to provide prompt notification of suspicious as well as threshold transactions. Training/education programmes must be designed to clarify responsibilities and to provide sufficient guidance for staff to identify and provide prompt notification of suspicious as well as threshold transactions. Training/education programmes must be designed and implemented on an ongoing basis by individual institutions to ensure employees’ awareness of: -

¾ Current as well as new and developing AML and CFT laws, regulations, standards and guidelines being established both locally and internationally;

¾ Their legal obligations and responsibilities to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorism financing;

¾ New money laundering and terrorism financing techniques, methods, typologies and trends;

¾ The institution’s own AML and CFT policies and procedures.

In developing education and training programmes89, particular emphasis needs to be placed on the following categories of staff:

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See MLA section 7(2)(c) and MLR regulation 3(1)(b) 88

Once the Proceeds of Crimes Act (POCA) comes into effect it will replace the MLA.

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a) New Employees. All new employees, irrespective of their level of seniority, should be informed as to the background and nature of money laundering and terrorist financing and the need for reporting suspicious and threshold transactions to the Designated Authority, through the institution’s Compliance Officer. They should be made aware of their personal legal obligation as well as that of the institution, to report suspicious transactions. As mentioned above, institutions should also institute appropriate screening processes so as to thoroughly investigate the background, honesty, and integrity of prospective employees.

b) Front Line Staff. The first point of contact of an institution with potential money launderers or persons attempting to finance terrorist activities is usually through staff who deal directly with the public. 'Front-line' staff members (such as Tellers, Cashiers and Foreign Currency Staff) should therefore be provided with specific training on examples of suspicious transactions and how these may be identified. They must also be informed about their legal responsibilities and the institution’s reporting systems and procedures to be adopted when a transaction is deemed to be suspicious. Additionally, they must be informed as to the institution's policy for dealing with occasional customers and ‘one-off’ transactions, particularly where large cash transactions are involved.

c) Account Opening/Customer Service Staff. Members of staff who deal with

account opening or the approval of new customers must receive the training given to tellers etc. in (b) above. They should also be trained as to the need to verify the identity of a customer and the institution's account opening and customer verification procedures. They must further be advised that a business relationship or ‘one-off’ transaction should not be established or continued until the identity of the customer is verified. Staff should also be made aware that the offer of suspicious funds or the request to undertake a suspicious transaction should be reported to the appropriate Compliance Officer, whether the funds are accepted or not, or the transaction proceeded with, or terminated.

d) Administration/Operations Supervisors and Managers. A higher level of

instruction covering all aspects of money laundering procedures should be

provided to persons with the responsibility for supervising or managing staff. Such training must include familiarization with the offences and penalties arising under the MLA90, the DOFPA91, and the TPA, the procedures relating to monitoring orders and production orders, the requirements for non- disclosure and for retention of records, and management’s specific responsibility vis-à-vis dealings with ‘high risk’ customers.

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Once the Proceeds of Crimes Act (POCA) comes into effect it will replace the MLA. 91