Welcome to the third edition of the Anti-Money Laundering Bulletin. The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidance on Customer Due Diligence, in particular in relation to the discontinuance of a business relationship.
Background
The obligation to discontinue a business relationship, or not to carry out a transaction for a customer for failure to provide Customer Due Diligence (CDD) documentation or information, emanates from EU law and from the standards set out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international standard setting body for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The reason for the requirement is to protect the financial system (and designated persons) from being used for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes.
The Central Bank is aware that while the requirement to discontinue business relationships appears straightforward in the legislation, in practice it can be problematic particularly in circumstances where monies are payable to a
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