Guidance Notes for AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing 2023 (Bermuda Monetary Authority) Notice 2023

Summary

These are the Bermuda Monetary Authority's comprehensive AML/ATF Guidance Notes, approved by the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform under section 49M of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 and issued by the BMA under section 5(2) of the Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008. They replace and supersede earlier guidance notes issued in 1998, 2010, 2016 and 2022, and are intended to help AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions (RFIs) understand and comply with Bermuda's AML/ATF legal and regulatory framework.

The guidance covers senior management responsibilities and internal controls, the risk-based approach, standard and non-standard customer due diligence, international sanctions, ongoing monitoring, wire transfers, suspicious activity reporting, employee training, and record-keeping, with sector annexes for trust, insurance, investment, corporate service provider, money service and digital asset businesses.

• Who it addresses: AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions as defined in section 42A(1) and Schedule 3 of POCA, including banks and traditional financial institutions, insurance managers, insurance marketplace providers and brokers, money service businesses, corporate service providers, trust businesses, investment fund operators, digital asset businesses, lending and leasing businesses, private trust companies, and designated financial groups.
• Core duty: RFIs must establish and maintain adequate, proportionate and risk-sensitive policies and procedures to prevent, detect and report money laundering and terrorist financing; failure to do so is itself an offence under the POCR regardless of whether ML/TF actually occurs.
• Reporting duties: Persons must promptly disclose to the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) any knowledge, suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect ML or TF, and must not tip off anyone other than the FIA about such disclosures or related investigations.
• Status of the guidance: The courts and the BMA will take the Guidance Notes into account when determining whether an RFI has breached the relevant AML/ATF acts or regulations.

This document is guidance rather than binding legislation itself, but it interprets and operationalises statutory and regulatory obligations that RFIs, and their senior management and compliance/reporting officers, are legally required to meet.

Key obligations

• RFIs must establish and maintain adequate and proportionate policies and procedures to prevent and detect money laundering.
• RFIs must establish and maintain appropriate and risk-sensitive policies and procedures to prevent, detect and report terrorist financing.
• Persons must promptly disclose to the FIA information giving rise to knowledge, suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect ML or TF.
• Persons must not tip off anyone other than the FIA about disclosures or investigations relating to ML or TF.
• RFIs must comply with any requirement imposed under a direction issued by the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform.
• RFIs must apply customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, wire transfer controls, employee training, and record-keeping measures as set out in the Guidance Notes.

Applies to

AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions (RFIs), insurance managers, relevant insurance marketplace providers and brokers, money service businesses, corporate service providers, trust businesses, operators of investment funds, digital asset businesses, lending and leasing businesses, private trust companies, designated financial groups

Related documents

• This document is made under Proceeds of Crime Act 1997
• This document is made under Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008