Regulatory Alerts2023-06-01
Circular CN/2023/4509: Advisory Notice on Expatriate Accounts
The Maldives Monetary Authority's Financial Intelligence Unit issued this advisory to address the misuse of expatriate accounts for illicit activities such as money laundering and tax evasion. Banks are instructed to ensure transactions align with intended purposes like salary deposits, limit the number of accounts per expatriate, and strengthen risk-based customer due diligence. The regulator emphasizes that these measures must be implemented without excluding legitimate businesses and consumers from the formal financial system.
بسم الله الرح من الرحيم
فَرِيدُونُ مَالِيَاتِي يُنِت FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT
مَالِدِيفُس مُونِتَرِي أُوثُورِتِي MALDIVES MONETARY AUTHORITY
Circular No: CN/2023/4509
1 June 2023
To: All Banks
Advisory Notice: Expatriate Accounts
It is observed that a high volume of transactions is conducted via expatriate accounts, indicating misuse of those accounts by the customers to facilitate illicit activities. It was also observed that Banks have allowed expatriate customers to maintain numerous accounts when the purposes of those accounts are for depositing salary and managing personal expenses.
Some of the illicit activities observed includes: 1- Illegal foreign exchange activities 2- Trade based money laundering 3- Routing business proceeds 4- Money muling 5- Tax evasion and tax avoidance 6- Layering transactions to avoid audit and paper trails
Therefore, Banks are advised to: 1- Ensure all transactions are conducted for the intended purposes (i.e. salary and personal expenses) 2- Consider limiting the number of accounts each expatriate can maintain with the Bank 3- Implement measures to strengthen Banks customer due diligence efforts on a risk-based approach
Banks are further advised that this Unit do not recommend the implementation of anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism measures that may cause unintended consequence of excluding legitimate businesses and consumers from the formal financial system.
Yours Sincerely,
[Signature]
Abdulla Ashraf Head of Financial Intelligence Unit
Phone: +960 3012139 :تليفون Email: fiu@mma.gov.mv :ایمیل Website: www.mma.gov :ویب سائٹ Web page: www.mma.gov.mv/#/fiu :ویب پیج Maldives Monetary Authority Boduthakurufaanu Magu Male' 20182, Maldives