Amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations

Pursuant to Legal Notice 464 of 2014, various amendments have been introduced to the PMLFTR, including inter alia, the following:

1. The FIAU now has the power to require subject persons to terminate a business relationship within a stipulated period of time where the FIAU knows or suspects that money laundering or funding of terrorism is taking place.
2. Moreover the FIAU has the power to request periodical reporting from subject persons and may establish the format in which the information is to be provided.
3. The definition of “Funding of Terrorism” has been amended to include Article 328B of the Criminal Code relating to terrorist groups. As such, the definition now includes any person who promotes, constitutes, organises, directs, finances, supplies information or materials to terrorist groups.
4. The definition to ‘relevant activity’ has been amended, resulting in the amendment of the list of persons deemed to be subject persons for the purposes of AML-CFT legislation when carrying out a relevant activity (as distinct from a ‘relevant financial business’).  As such, the definition of ‘relevant activity’ now excludes “persons acting as trustees in terms of article 43A of the said Act”, i.e. private trustees.
5. The business of an electronic money institution and natural persons who are enrolled as intermediaries and act on behalf of another intermediary have been removed from the definition of ‘relevant financial business’.
6. The penalties for contraventions under the PMLFTR have been streamlined to a minimum of EUR 1,000 and a maximum of EUR 46,500.