Cooperation for prevention of money laundering and other offences

(1) All IFS Practitioners shall determine the identity of the beneficial ownership of all their clients’ accounts and shall not open or maintain such accounts, unless they are satisfied of this requirement, as stipulated in the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act and the Regulation. CAP. 104. (2) All IFS Practitioners shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that accounts are not used for the purpose of holding assets obtained as the result of, or for facilitating the commission of any criminal activity or for any purpose contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act and the Regulations. (3) IFS Practitioners shall develop and implement policies and procedures to identify and avoid money laundering transactions and to ensure compliance with the requirements of any relevant Belize legislation; and such policies shall include an appropriate training programme for their staff. (4) IFS Practitioners shall, on a regular basis, evaluate the effectiveness of their policies and control procedures in complying with these Regulations and any relevant guidelines, and such evaluation shall be an integral component of any internal audit. (5) IFS Practitioners shall be vigilant in ensuring the prevention of their involvement or misuse in money laundering activities, and shall not knowingly accept assets or enter into business relationships where there is reasonable cause to believe that such assets may have been acquired illegally or that they represent the proceeds of criminal activity. (6) IFS Practitioners shall establish procedures to obtain appropriate evidence of client identity, and shall maintain adequate records of client identity and transactions involved in such a manner as to assist, if necessary, in the investigation of criminal offences. (7) IFS Practitioners shall make a common-sense judgment about what, if any, further due diligence steps are required to be taken in relation to existing clients and relationships established prior to these Regulations coming into effect, and they shall also implement a system of periodic review of customer account activity. (8) All staff of IFS Practitioners shall have access to information relating to these Regulations and any relevant guidelines for the prevention and detection of money laundering, and IFS Practitioners shall adopt procedures to monitor staff compliance with these Regulations, relevant guidelines, policies, internal controls and any procedures relating to money laundering and other criminal activities. (9) IFS Practitioners shall have specific policies and procedures for the acceptance of cash for the account of clients and for monitoring account activity in credit and debit card operations where applicable.