Regulatory Alerts2023-11-21
FIC Guidelines No 001/2023 on Transparency and Beneficial Ownership
The Financial Intelligence Centre of Rwanda issued these guidelines to mandate reporting persons, including financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses, to identify and verify the beneficial owners of their customers through enhanced due diligence. The document requires entities to maintain accurate, up-to-date records on natural persons holding at least twenty-five percent ownership or exercising effective control, ensuring this data is accessible to authorities for at least ten years. By clarifying ownership determination methods for legal persons, trusts, and collective investment schemes, the guidelines strengthen transparency and mitigate the misuse of corporate structures for money laundering and terrorism financing.