The Austrian Financial Market Authority FMA has updated five circulars on the subject of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The circulars concerned are the following: on “Identification and Verification of Identity for Credit Institutions”, on “Identification and Verification of Identity for Insurance Undertakings”, on “Suspicious Transaction Reports”, on the “Risk-Sensitive Approach” and on the “Transmission of Payer Information”. These circulars are intended to serve supervised companies as a guide to complying with the provisions aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Examples of adaptations to the circulars on “Identification and Verification of Identity for Credit Institutions” and “Identification and Verification of Identity for Insurance Undertakings” include the requirement, in connection with trust transactions, for customers to provide notification of any changes during an existing business relationship without delay and without being prompted to do so. In addition, simplified customer due diligence has been explicitly specified as not referring to a complete lifting of identification obligations but only as denoting a relaxation of requirements.
The update of the “Circular on Suspicious Transaction Reports” mainly entails changes resulting from the 2010 amendments to the Penal Code (StGB) and the Tax Offences Act (FinStrG). For instance, self-laundering now also falls under Article 165 StGB and is punishable. Furthermore, the catalogue of predicate offences to money laundering has been expanded. Due to the newly added offence of tax fraud, offences of tax evasion now also constitute a predicate offence to money laundering under specific circumstances, e.g. when involving the use of counterfeit or falsified documents.
The “Circular on the Risk-Sensitive Approach” is intended to serve as a guide to implementing the legal provisions aimed at optimising efficiency and effectiveness in combating money laundering and terrorist financing by preventive means. As a consequence of the 2010 amendment to the Banking Act (BWG), the update specifically defines enhanced customer due diligence as not only applying to business relationships and/or transactions with politically exposed persons (PEP) but rather to transactions and business relationships bearing any connection to a PEP.
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-5106
+43/(0676)/882 49 516