Regulation on requirements for prevention
and combating money laundering and
terrorism financing in the activity of nonbank payment services provider No 202 of 09
August, 2018
Note: The translation is unofficial, for information purpose only
Decision
of the Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova No 202 of 9 August 2018
on the approval of the Regulation on requirements for prevention and combating money
laundering and terrorism financing in the activity of non-bank payment services provider
(in force as of 24.08.2018)
Published in the Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova No 321-332 of 24.08.2018, Article
1313
REGISTERED:
Ministry of Justice of the
Republic of Moldova
No 1355 of 21.08.2018
Pursuant to Article 5 paragraph (1) m), Article 11 paragraph (1) and Article 27 paragraph (1) c) of
Law No 548-XIII of 21 July 1995 on the National Bank of Moldova (republished in the Official
Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, 2015, No 297-300, Article 544), Article 5 paragraph (2),
Article 93 paragraph (2) letter b) and Article 94 of Law on payment services and electronic money,
No 114 of 18 May 2012 and Article 13 paragrpah (3) and (14), Artocle 15 paragraph (2) of Law No
308 of 22 December 2017 on the prevention and combating money laundering and terrorist
financing (Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, 2018, No 58-66, Article 133), Executive
Board of the National Bank of Moldova
DECIDES:
- To approve the Regulation on requirements related to prevention and combating money
laundering and terrorism financing in the activity of non-bank payment services providers, (see
attached).
- This decision shall enter into force at the date of publication in the Official Monitor of the
Republic of Moldova.
Chairman
of the Executive Board
Sergiu CIOCLEA
Annex
Approved by the
Decision of the Executive Board
of the National Bank of Moldova
No. 202 of 9 august 2018
REGULATION
on requirements related to prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism
financing in the activity of non-bank payment services providers
This Regulation partially implenets Regulation (EU) No 2015/847 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 20 May 2015 on information accopmanying transfers of funds and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 (Text with EEA relevance) published in the Oficial Journal of the
European Union L 141 of 5 June 2015.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
-
The Regulation on requirements related to prevention and combating money laundering and
terrorism financing in the activity of non-bank payment services providers (hereinafter –
Regulation) establishes rules for: identification and assessment by non-bank payment services
providers of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, development of internal policies and
programs, application of customer due diligence requirements, including customer enhanced due
diligence measures; data storage; reporting the suspicious activities and transactions; application of
financial sanctions related to terrorist activities and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
putting in place and implementation of the elements of the internal control system, as well as other
requirements in order to minimize the risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
-
The non-bank payment service provider (hereinafter – Provider) shall apply the provisions of this
Regulation in business relations with their customers or when conducting transactions (payments)
both directly and through agents.
-
The terms and expressions used in this Regulation shall have the meanings stipulated in Law No
308 of 22 December 2017 on the Prevention and combating money laundering and terrorist
financing, Law No 114 of 18 May 2012 on the Payment services and electronic money, Law No
548 of 21 July 1995 on the National Bank of Moldova, as well as other regulatory acts of the
National Bank of Moldova and of the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering,
related to the field of prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing. In
addition, for the purposes of this Regulation, the following terms and expressions shall be used:
legal entity identifier (LEI) shall mean a 20-character unique alphanumeric code based on the ISO
standard 17442 assigned to a legal entity.
[Item 3 amended by NBM Decision No. 8 of 13.01.2025, in force 16.01.2025]
Chapter II
RESPONSIBILITIES
-
The Provider shall have in place and implement an internal program on prevention and combating
money laundering and terrorist financing.
-
The Provider shall have in place an adequate internal control system to identify, assess, monitor
and understand the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. The Provider shall apply all
necessary measures and use sufficient resources to minimize the identified risks.
-
The Provider is responsible for developing, approving and ensuring the implementation of the
internal program on prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing and for
compliance of the activity to the provisions of legislation in the field of prevention and combating
money laundering and terrorism financing.
-
The Internal Audit subdivision of the Provider or an audit firm/external auditor shall perform, at
least annually, an independent assessment of the adequacy and compliance of the Provider's activity
with the Program on prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. The results of the
assessment shall be communicated to the responsible manager of the Provider and, on request, to the
National Bank of Moldova.
Chapter III
REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE INTERNAL PROGRAM ON PREVENTION AND
COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING
-
The internal program on prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing
represents a series of policies, methods, practices, procedures and other rules, including the
customer due diligence procedures, promoting ethical and professional standards on the market for
payment services, that aim to prevent organized criminal groups or their associates from using the
Providers for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes. This program must ensure that
payment operations are carried out in a safe and prudent way.
-
The Provider shall draw up the internal program on prevention and combating money laundering
and terrorism financing in accordance with the provisions of Law No.308 of 22 December, 2017 on
Prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing, the present Regulation, other
regulatory acts of the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, issued for the
purpose of application of this law, taking into account the industry-accepted practices, including the
documents issued by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The internal program
shall be approved by the manager of the provider, who is responsible for ensuring that the provider’s
policies and procedures comply with legal requirements to prevent and combat money laundering
and terrorist financing.
-
When developing the internal program, it shall be taken into account the size, complexity, nature
and amount of the activities carried out by the Provider, the types (categories) of customers, the
degree (level) of risk associated with different customers or customer categories as well as the
customers’ transactions, agencies and affiliates through which they operate.
-
Internal program on prevention and combating money laundering and terrorist financing shall
include, without being limited to, the following:
- the responsibilities of the responsible manager of the Provider, which shall include at least:
a) knowing the criteria (indices) of increased risk clients;
b) approving significant operations of the increased risk clients;
c) determining the Provider's areas of activity exposed to the risk of money laundering and terrorist
financing. Areas of activity exposed to the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing may be
those related to: products and services provided, transactions made both directly and through
payment agents, open payment accounts, etc.
d) remediation of deficiencies identified in the field of prevention and combating money laundering
and terrorism financing, including reporting suspicious transactions to the Office for Prevention and
Fight against Money Laundering;
e) the implementation of the internal program on preventing and combating money laundering and
terrorist financing, determining the responsibilities of personnel at different hierarchical levels,
including those in senior management positions;
e
1
) determining the mechanism to protect compliance officers and employees who report violations
of legislation on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing;
f) implementation of internal procedures concerning the reasonable time access of the responsible
staff to the information required for performance of work obligations;
2) the customer acceptance procedures that describe at least the categories of customers whom the
Provider intends to attract as well as the staff levels that shall approve the initiation of a business
relationship with such customers, depending on the degree of associated risk and the types of
products and services that are to be provided to them;
3) the measures to be used to identify, verify and monitor customers and beneficial owners
according to the degree of associated risk (CDD procedures), the criteria and the procedure of
moving customers from one risk category to another;
4) the CDD measures, including simplified and enhanced CDD measures for each category of
customers, products, services or transactions subject to these measures and risk management
measures in case of establishing the business relationship until the verification of the identity of the
client and the beneficial owner;
5) the procedures to be applied to monitor customer transactions for detecting significant, complex
and unusual transactions without a clear legal or economic purpose, suspicious activities and
transactions;
5
1
) the procedures and requirements for the application of enhanced due diligence measures when
carrying out transactions of resident customers with virtual asset service providers authorised in
other states.
6) measures to identify and monitor customers and customer operations with countries / jurisdictions
lacking effective anti-money laundering and terrorism financing systems, or posing an increased risk
due to high levels of crime and corruption, and/or involved in terrorist activities;
7) the procedures describing the collection and storage of information as well as the conditions of
granting access to them;
8) the procedures for reporting internally and to the competent authorities on suspicious money
laundering or terrorist financing activities and transactions, or non-compliance with applicable laws
or internal procedures;
9) the procedures and measures aiming to ascertain compliance with relevant standards and to assess
their effectiveness;
10) standards developed for the personnel’s recruitment, employment and training programs in the
field of prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing;
11) procedures for identifying and analyzing the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing,
including the measures to minimize them, by using information technologies, including the modern
ones, which are to be procured or developed as one of the Provider’s products or services.
[Paragraph 11 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
12. Whenever required, but at least annually, the Provider shall review (update) its internal program
on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing, taking into account
relevant legal provisions.
Chapter IV
THE ASSESSMENT OF RISK EXPOSURE TO MONEY LAUNDERING AND
TERRORIST FINANCING. THE RISK-BASED APPROACH
13. The Provider commits to identify and evaluate the existing risk exposure to money laundering
and terrorism financing, taking into account the national risk assessment of money laundering and
terrorism financing, as well as the criteria and factors established by the National Bank of Moldova
and the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering. The results of the
assessment shall be documented in an assessemnt report, which shall be approved and periodically
updated, responsible for this process being the Provider’s responsible manager, and on request shall
be submitted to the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering and/or the National
Bank of Moldova.
14. The provider, based on the results of the money laundering and terrorism financing risk
assessment, shall ensure the implementation of the risk-based approach to prevent and mitigate
money laundering and terrorism financing in proportion to the identified money laundering and
terrorism financing risks in the field of activity.
15. For the purpose of implementing item 13 the Provider shall carry out and update the risk
assessemnt in its area of activity, at least once a year and after each money laundering and terrorist
financing risk assessment at national level, as well as where appropriate, when additional criteria
and risk factors are identified by the National Bank of Moldova and the Office for Prevention and
Fight againt Money Laundering. This process shall include at least:
- the preparation of a written report describing the countries or geographical areas, products,
customers and transactions presenting a high degree of risk, their share and impact on the Provider's
activity;
- the drawing up of an action plan aiming to minimize the identified risks of money laundering and
terrorism financing;
- The Provider shall identify and assess existing risks of money laundering and terrorism
financing before:
- it launched and developed new products and services;
- it started using new or developing technologies for both new and existing products and services.
- While assessing its risk exposure to money laundering and terrorism financing, the Provider
shall use different sources of information to identify, manage and mitigate the risks associated with
its field of activity. This includes considering typologies, risk indicators, guidelines and / or
recommendations issued by national and international competent authorities. In identifying and
assessing the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing to which it may be exposed, the
Provider must consider at least the following factors:
- nature, scale, diversity and complexity of the business;
- the proportion of customers already identified as having an increased risk;
- jurisdictions with which the provider operates, in particular, jurisdictions with increased
vulnerability due to risk factors such as high crime, corruption, terrorism financing, regulation and
limited supervision of the area of prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism
financing;
- distribution channels, including the extent to which the Provider performs operations directly
with the customer or through agents and subsidiaries and the extent to which it relies on information
provided by third parties to carry out client identification measures, the complexity of the payment
chain and the settlement systems used between operators in the payment chain, the use of
technology and the extent to which agent networks are used;
5) internal audit and internal regulations;
6) the volume and size of the Provider's transactions, taking into account his usual business and the
profile of his clients.
Chapter IV
CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE MEASURES
Section 1
Customer acceptance procedures
18. The customer acceptance procedures will contain identifying and verifying the customer and,
the customer's beneficial owner, on the basis of reliable, independent information, data or
documents. It also includes understanding the purpose and nature of the business relationship and, in
high-risk situations, obtaining additional information.
19. The customer acceptance procedures will include several steps depending on the degree of the
risk associated with each customer. The decision to start, continue or terminate a business
relationship with a customer who is associated with an increased degree of risk shall be taken by the
Provider’s manager responsible for the implementation and compliance with the requirements for
the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing.
20. The Provider shall not enter into business relations with persons, groups or entities involved in
terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, specified in art. 34 par. (11)
of the Law No 308 of 22 December 2017 on the Prevention and combating of money laundering and
terrorism financing. The Provider shall communicate immediately, but not later than within 24
hours, to the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering its decision to refuse
entering into business relationship with a customer, providing all supporting data pertaining to the
case.
21. The customer acceptance procedures will take into account the risks of money laundering and
terrorist financing identified by the provider.
Section 2
Customer due diligence measures
22. The Provider shall, depending on the risk, apply customer due diligence measures:
- when establishing business relationship with the customer;
- in the case of all occasional transactions exceeding 20000 MDL, including those carried out by
means of electronic equipment, if the money transfer is performed in a single transaction, or in a
series of transactions that appear to be linked, if their value exceeds 200000 MDL;
- when there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorism financing, regardless of any
applicable derogation, exemption or threshold;
- when there are suspicions regarding the veracity, sufficiency and accuracy of the previously
obtained customer identification data;
221
. Depending on the level of risk involved, taking into account the type of customer, country
(jurisdiction), business relationship, product/service offered or transaction carried out, distribution
network, etc., the provider shall apply standard, simplified or enhanced due diligence.
- By way of derogation from item 22, based on a proper risk assessment demonstrating a lowlevel risk of money laundering and terrorism financing, the Provider, except for cases of redemption
or withdrawal of cash exceeding the amount of 2000 MDL, may be exempted from the application
of CDD measures, where electronic money or the prepaid payment instrument is used, provided the
following conditions are met:
- the maximum amount of electronic deposit does not exceed 5000 MDL;
- the amount of monthly transfers does not exceed 5000 MDL; in the case of payment instruments
that can be used only on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, the threshold can be increased up
to 10000 MDL;
- the payment instrument is used exclusively for the acquisition of goods or services;
- the payment instrument cannot be funded with anonymous electronic money (which cannot be
attributed to an identified person);
- the issuer regularly monitors the transactions or the business relationship to enable the detection
of suspicious transactions.
- When applying the standard due diligence relating to customers in the cases referred to in item
22, the provider shall obtain at least the following information:
- for customers - natural persons:
a) name and surname;
b) date and place of birth;
c) citizenship and ID card data (IDNP, series and number, date of issue, code of the issuing organ (if
any) or other unique indents of an identity document containing the holder's photograph);
d) permanent and/or residence address;
e) telephone number, faximile, e-mail address (if available);
f) resident/non-resident status.
g) the occupation, the position held and/or the name of the employer;
h) the source of the income;
i) identification of the beneficial owner;
j) purpose and nature of the business relationship or occasional transaction (purpose of entering into
the business relationship or occasional transaction, type of product and service requested, type of
transactions, volume of assets expected to be deposited, volume and frequency of expected
transactions, potential duration of the business relationship;.
- for customers – legal persons, individual entrepreneurs and trusts or similar legal arrangements:
a) the name, the legal form of organization, the act of incorporation, the fiduciary act and the act on
the state registration;
b) headquarters/business address;
c) the state identification number (IDNO), according to the registration certificate and/or the extract
from the State Register issued by the competent authority with the right to carry out the state
registration;
d) the mailing address, other than the registered office (if any);
e) the identity of the natural person empowered to manage the account, the legality of the powers of
attorney (in the absence of such a person, the administrator of the legal entity is indicated);
f) the identity of the beneficial owner of the legal entity;
f
1
) the identity of the persons holding senior management positions, as well as their powers of
representation;
g) rights and obligations of the management body of the company arising from the primary
registration documents or the constitutive act;
g
1
) for trusts and similar legal arrangements, the identity of the founder, administrator, protector (if
any), beneficiaries or classes of beneficiaries and any other persons who ultimately exercise
effective control (in the case of other types of legal constructions similar to trusts - the identity of
persons holding equivalent positions;
h) the nature and purpose of the activity, their legitimacy;
i) the purpose and nature of the business relationship or occasional transaction (purpose of entering
into the business relationship or carrying out the occasional transaction, type of product and service
requested, type of transactions, volume of assets expected to be deposited, volume and frequency of
transactions expected, potential duration of the business relationship).;
[Item 24 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force on 02.07.2021]
25. The Provider shall identify the customer's beneficial owner and apply reasonable risk-based
measures to verify his identity, using documents, information and data obtained from secure source,
to be sure that it knows the ultimate beneficial owner and understands the property and control
structures of the customer. In order to identify the beneficial owner, the Provider shall apply the
measures described in item 24 sub-item 1).
[Item 25 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
26. When identifying the beneficial owner for the customer who is a legal person, including entities
with complex ownership structure (a legal person whose direct owners are not natural persons), the
Provider shall determine the beneficial owner on the basis of the appropriate registration documents.
If there are no grounds for suspicion regarding the concealment of information on the beneficial
owner and if after exhausting all possible means established according to item 25, it is found that no
person meets the legal conditions to be identified as the beneficial owner (no natural person is not a
majority shareholder or does not exercise direct or indirect control in other ways), as an exception,
the natural person holding the position of client administrator is considered the beneficial owner.
The provider keeps all the information and documents accumulated in the process of determining
the beneficial owner of the customer – legal person, including those proving the exhaustion of all
possible means of identification, and presents them, upon request, to the National Bank of Moldova
and Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering.When identifying the beneficial
owner of for-profit (commercial) legal entities, non-commercial institutions, trusts or similar legal
arrangements or other types of legal entities (including those managing and distributing funds), the
provider shall take into account the identification criteria set out in Article 52 of Law No 308/2017
on Prevention and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the Guidelines of the
Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering on the identification of the beneficial
owner.
[Item 26 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
27. When the client or holder of the controlling interests whose securities are traded on a regulated
market / multilateral trading system that imposes disclosure requirements, either by stock exchange
rules or by applicable law, to ensure adequate transparencyto the beneficial owner, or is a majorityowned subsidiary of such a company, it is not necessary to identify and verify the identity of any of
the shareholders or beneficial owners of such companies. The Provider obtains relevant
identification data from public registers, from the customer or from other reliable sources..
[Item 27 in the wording of NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
28. The Provider shall determine whether the person who opens the payment account or initiates a
business relationship acts on his behalf (the person's statement of the beneficial owner) and if the
opening of the payment account or the initiation of the business relationship is carried out by the
empowered person, the provider shall request the Power of Attorney, certified in the manner
prescribed by the law. The Provider shall apply CDD measures to establish the identity of the
authorized representative, as well as assesses the necessity of applying enhanced precautionary
measures in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.
29. When performing the customer identification, the Provider shall verify the submitted
information that relates to both the customer and the beneficial owner.
30. The Provider shall verify the identity of a customer and his beneficial owner prior to establishing
a business relationship with the customer or or conducting a transaction set out in item 22 sub-item
2).
31. In order to verify the identification information provided for the customer and the beneficial
owner, the Provider shall use documents, data and information obtained from reliable and
independent sources. The applied measures shall be proportionate to the risk associated with the
customer and the types of submitted documents. For this purpose, the Provider shall use
documentary and non-documentary verification procedures:
- when dealing with customers who are natural persons:
a) to confirm the identity of a customer or a beneficial owner by using a legal valid document,
containing a photograph of the holder, such as an identity card, passport, residence permit, etc.
b) to confirm the date and place of birth by using any legal documents, such as the birth certificate,
ID card, passport, residence permit, etc.;
c) to confirm the validity of the presented identity documents by requesting an expert advice of
competent persons, such as notaries, embassies, etc.;
d) to confirm the residence address by requesting the invoices for public utility services, tax
payment documents, information provided by public authorities or other persons;
e) to confirm the information submitted after the account has been opened - by contacting the
customer by telephone, fax, e-mail (if any) or by sending a letter by post;
f) to verify the reference provided by another provider/bank;
- when dealing with customers who are legal persons and trust or similar legal arrangements - by
any appropriate method depending on the degree of associated risk, so that the Provider can assure
the veracity of the information, such as:
a) to verify a legal existence of the legal person by checking the records made in the State Register
of legal persons or, as the case may be, in another public or private register or other independent
safe source, such as legal firms, accountants, etc.;
b) to obtain a copy of the articles of incorporation or the memorandum of association, a partnership
contract, a fiduciary act;
c) to verify in public or private databases information on the customer’s existing business
relationships;
d) to examine the latest financial reports, if applicable;
e) to conduct a research / investigation, either individually or through another person, aiming to
determine whether there is any evidence that the person is insolvent, filed for liquidation, intends to
sell the entity or there are other potential financial problems which have to be taken care of;
f) to obtain the reference of a provider/bank with which the customer previously had business
relations, if any;
g) to contact the customer by telephone or fax, by post or email, to check the information placed on
the customer's website, if any, or to make a field visit to the headquarters or other business address
indicated by the legal entity or the individual entrepreneur;
- for the beneficial owner – the measures provided in sub-item 1).
- where a person is empowered on behalf of the customer to open an account or to carry out
transactions, the Provider shall verify the identity of the customer and the identity of the person in
whose name it operates by using the same procedures described in this Regulation.
[Item 31 amended by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
32. Documents submitted in order to identify the customer and the beneficial owner as well as to
verify their identity must be valid on the date of their presentation and their copies shall be
stored/archived by the Provider in accordance with the established internal procedures. The
documents shall be submitted by the client in original or in copy (photocopy) legalized according to
the applicable legislation. In the case of presentation of copy documents (photocopies) that are not
properly authenticated, the provider shall solicit the submission of the original documents to
corroborate the information and data presented. In the case of remote identification and verification
of the Customer's identity, the Provider shall request and obtain the necessary information and
documents in accordance with the Regulation of the National Bank of Moldova on the requirements
for identification and verification of the Customer's identity by electronic means.
33. Throughout its business relationship, the Provider shall review and update the information on the
identification of customers and beneficial owners according to the associated risk. It updates the
information as necessary, considering relevant factors, but at least for high-risk customers -
annually, for medium-risk customers - every 2 years, and for low-risk customers - once every 3
years. Relevant factors that may determine the need to update the information include the previous
non-application of the identification measures, the period of their application, the adequacy of the
data obtained, new normative requirements regarding the precautionary measures and / or the
change of the relevant circumstances regarding the client..
[Item 33 in the wording of NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
Section III
Monitoring of the customer’s activity and transactions
34. The Provider should adjust the scale of the client's activities and operations monitoring measures
in accordance with the institutional risk assessment and individual risk profile of the clients.
Increased monitoring is applied to high-risk situations. Monitoring systems need to be reviewed
periodically, but not less than once a year.
35. Operations initiated/performed by the Provider’s agent must be monitored periodically under the
same conditions as the Provider's operations. Monitoring must be performed by the Provider
individually or in collaboration with that agent, on the basis of a concluded agreement and under the
control of the provider.
36. The Provider who provides services through paying agents should include them in the internal
program for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing and monitor their
compliance with the Provider's program.
37. The Provider shall continuously monitor the customer's activities, transactions or its business
relationship with the customer. The ongoing monitoring process shall include:
- determining the customer's ordinary (specific) transactions;
- an extensive examination of transactions conducted during its business relationship with the
customer, to ensure that they are in line with the information held by the Provider, the customer’s
declared activity and the risk level associated with the customer. The examination of transactions
requires the Provider to have in place at least those mechanisms / IT solutions, including the
automated ones, for detecting suspicious activities, transactions or people. Detecting suspicious
activities, transactions, and people can be achieved by setting transaction value limits for a particular
group or class of transactions. A particular attention should be paid to transactions that exceed the
established value limits and transactions that have no clear economic purpose ;
3) verifying whether documents and information gathered during the customer / transaction
monitoring are up-to-date and relevant, including for high-risk customers or business relationships;
4) identification of suspicious activities or transactions, including potential ones, as well as of
sources of funds used in these activities and transactions;
5) reporting to the responsible person of the information on risks identified with respect to the
customers' accounts and transactions, including for high-risk customers;
6) a real-time monitoring of all transactions (payments) conducted by customers or potential
customers, to identify persons, groups or entities involved in terrorist activities and the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, including to identify and prevent any payments made by them in
violation of the sanctions, prohibitions or other restrictions imposed.
38. The responsible manager of the Provider is responsible for documenting, storage and
communicating with the relevant staff the results of the monitoring, as well as any problems that
arise and their resolution.
39. The Provider shall refrain from executing any operations and transactions in financial means, for
up to 5 business days, once it gained pertinent suspicions of money laundering or related offenses,
terrorist financing, or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, whether these are at the stage
of preparation, attempt, are in process or have been already completed.
40. The Provider shall apply the provisions specified under item 39 at the solicitation of the Office
for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering or on its own initiative. When acting on its own
initiative while applying the requirements of item 39, the Provider shall inform immediately, but not
later than within 24 hours, the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering of the
decision taken.
41. When applying the provisions of item 39, the Provider, may ask the customer to provide
additional data and information, including any confirmatory documents for the transactions
conducted, in order to apply proper CDD measures and, in particular, to understand the purpose and
the nature of the business relationship, as well as the source of the implied assets.
42. The measures applied according to the provisions of item 39 shall cease ex officio based on the
written permission and confirmation of the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money
Laundering. The provisions of this item do not exempt the provider from the obligations laid down
in art. 5 par. (3) of Law No 308 of 22 December 2017 on prevention and combating money
laundering and terrorism financing and in the internal program, elaborated in accordance with item
11.
43. The Provider shall commit:
-
not to carry out any operation or transaction, including through a payment account, or to enter
into business relationship if the Provider cannot ensure compliance with the provisions of items 24,
25, 30,31, and 37;
-
in the case of an existing business relationship, to terminate the business relationship if the
Provider cannot ensure compliance with the provisions of items 24, 25, 30, 31, and 37;
2
1
) where there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing and the Provider reasonably
considers that compliance with the requirements of items 24, 25, 30, 31, and 37 would result in a
breach of the duty of confidentiality, not to complete the process of applying the due diligence
measures in relation to the prospective customer.
-
in conditions specified in sub-items (1), (2), and (21
) hereto, to submit to the Office for the
Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, in accordance with the art. 11 of Law No308 of
December 22, 2017 on the Prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing,
special forms developed for the reporting of suspicious activities or transactions. In this case, the
Provider shall be relieved from the obligation to provide explanation to the customer on the reasons
for its refusal to do business with the customer.
- The Provider shall not open or maintain anonymous accounts or accounts in fictitious names,
shall not issue or accept payments carried out by using anonymous prepaid cards, shall not establish
or continue a business relationship with a fictitious partner (fictitious institution) or a partner
(institution) known to allow to another fictitious partner (fictitious institution) to use its accounts or
to provide anonymous accounts for the use of its customers.
- The Provider shall not open and maintain accounts for/with virtual asset Providers in other
countries and non-resident client accounts for the purpose of conducting transactions to/from virtual
asset Providers in other countries.
Section 4
Information obtained from third parties
- The provider may use the information held by third parties to carry out the measures provided
for in points 24, 25, 30 and 31 under the following conditions:
- third parties represent the reporting entities provided in Article 4 paragraph (1) of Law No
308/2017 on Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, residents or
similar located in another country (jurisdiction), which are adequately supervised and meet
requirements similar to those provided by Law No 308/2017, including customer due diligence and
data retention measures and;
- third parties are not residents in high-risk jurisdictions.
[Item 45 in the wording of NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
451
. Providers who use third parties have effective procedures in place to ensure that they obtain
from these third parties immediately:
- all necessary information related to the measures provided for in points 24, 25, 30 and 31;
- upon request, copies of identification data and other documents related to the measures provided
in points 24, 25, 30 and 31, including data obtained by means of electonic means.
[Item 451
introduced by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
- The Provider shall bear ultimate responsibility for the implementation of the measures set out in
items 24, 25, 30 and 31, in case of recourse to third parties.
[Item 46 amended by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
Chapter VI
SIMPLIFIED CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE MEASURES
- The Provider shall apply simplified CDD measures when, by their very nature, they present a
lower degree of risk of money laundering or terrorism financing.
- Simplified CDD measures represent CDD measures referred to in items 22 and 23 applied under
a simplified procedure corresponding to the low degree of risk of money laundering and terrorism
financing, which include:
- the limitation of obtaining customer identification data by applying a simplified customer
verification procedure;
2) the limitation of obtaining specific information or taking specific measures regarding the purpose
and nature of the business relationship and deducting the purpose and nature of the business
relationship from the type of transaction or business relationship established;
3) verification of the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner after the establishment of the
business relationship, when this is necessary in order not to interrupt normal business practices;
4) reduction of the frequency of customer identification updates in the case of an established
business relationship;
5) a reduced degree and scale of ongoing monitoring and control of transactions, based on a
reasonable amount limit.
If the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner has not been verified until the establishment
of the business relationship, the Provider shall ensure that this measure is carried out as soon as
possible after the initial contact, but not later than one month. Until the completion of the
verification measures, the Provider does not allow transactions to be carried out through the account
or establishes specific conditions for its use (value limits, types of services, etc.), in accordance with
internal policies and procedures.
[Item 48 amended by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
49. Based on its own assessment and in accordance with the results of the national risk assessment,
the Provider shall set out the factors that generate lower risk of money laundering and terrorism
financing and which determine the application of simplified CDD measures, including at least the
following factors:
- business relationships/clients and/or products/services established in the Law no. 308 of 22
December 2017 on the Prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing;
- reduced amounts for payments, deposit or cash withdrawal;
- number of limited payments, deposit or redemption, including withdrawal of cash over a certain
period of time;
- a payment account that can store only limited amounts of funds;
- the product or service can only be used nationally;
- the product or service is accepted by a limited number of agents whose business is familiar to the
provider;
- money means are accepted as a means of payment for limited types of services or low-risk
products;
- the product is only available to certain customer categories, such as social benefits recipients or
staff members of a company using the product to cover corporate expenses.
Based on the assessment of money laundering and terrorism financing risks at national level and
based on criteria and factors established by the supervising organ, the provider accumulates
sufficient information to identify whether the client, transactions or business relationships meet the
conditions mentioned above.
[Item 49 amended by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
491
. On the basis of an appropriate risk assessment demonstrating a low risk of money laundering
and terrorist financing, the provider may apply simplified prudential measures in relation to
electronic money for transactions for the purchase of goods or services, except for redemption or
cash withdrawal of the monetary value of electronic money and for remote payment transactions
exceeding MDL1000 per transaction, provided that the following conditions are met:
a) the maximum value stored electronically does not exceed MDL 3000;
b) the value of monthly transfers does not exceed MDL 3000; and
c) the issuer (Provider) carries out sufficient monitoring of the transactions or business relationship
to detect suspicious transactions.
50. The Provider will not apply simplified CDD measures if there is a suspicion of money
laundering or terrorist financing.
Chapter VII
ENHANCED CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE MEASURES
51. In order to enforce the legislation on prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism
financing, the Provider shall set out the categories of customers, activities and transactions that
present a high degree of risk based on the indicators reflecting the volume of performed operations,
the type of services requested, the type of business run, economic circumstances, the reputation of
the country of origin, the plausibility of the customer's explanations, the pre-established value limits
by transaction type.
52. Based on its own assessment, the Provider shall set out the factors that generate an increased
degree of risk of money laundering or terrorism financing and which determine the application of
enhanced CDD measures. The factors that generate increased risk are:
- business relationships/clients and/or products/services established in the Law no. 308 of 22
December 2017 on Prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing;
- products or services that allow large or unlimited cash operations;
- the transaction is in cash;
3
1
) customers and transactions to/from virtual asset service providers authorised in other countries;
- transactions are carried out from one or more payers from different countries to a local
beneficiary;
- the client performs operations for someone else (on behalf of another person);
- the transactions made have no economic meaning;
- the customer always performs transactions below the reporting threshold;
- the use of the service by the client is unusual, for example sending or receiving money to or by
itself or sending funds immediately after receiving them;
- the client seems to know little or is reluctant to provide information about the beneficiary;
- some of the provider's customers transfer money to the same beneficiary or appear to have the
same identification information, such as the address or telephone number;
- the operation is not accompanied by the necessary information about the payer or the
beneficiary;
- money sent or received is in contradiction with the client's income (if known);
- business partners in foreign jurisdictions;
- other factors identified in the risk assessment and by the supervisors.
- The provider shall apply enhanced customer due diligence, in addition to those set out in item
24, in situations which, by their nature, may present a high risk of money laundering or terrorism
financing, at least by:
- obtaining additional information about the customer and beneficial owner (type of activity,
volume of assets, turnover, other information available in public sources and internet) as well as
frequently updating the identification data of the customer and of the beneficial owner;
- obtaining additional information on the nature and purpose of the intended business relationship;
- obtaining additional information on the source of the customer’s funds and property;
- obtaining information on the purpose of the activity or transaction whether intended, currently
carried out or completed;
5) obtaining the approval of the responsible person and/or of the head of the branch for the
establishment or continuation of the business relationship;
6) enhanced and permanent monitoring of the business relationship ensured through an increased
frequency of checks performed, and by selecting activities and transactions that require additional
examination and by requesting additional information confirming the legality of the operations and
the adequacy of these types of activity declared;
7) the implementation of specialized IT systems in order to ensure the efficiency of information
management for proper identification, analysis and monitoring of customers and their transactions,
as well as the reporting to the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering on
transactions, which present suspicions of money laundering and terrorism financing;
8) to alert customers whose activities or transactions are exposed to a higher risk of money
laundering and terrorism financing on the need to increase their business partner due diligence
measures;
9) in the case of cross-border relationships, to restrict or terminate the business relationship or the
execution of transactions in the event of inappropriate application and non-compliance with the
requirements for the prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing by the
partner/correspondent institution;
10) additional measures specified in items 53
1
to 562
.
[Item 53 amended by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
531
. When dealing with resident customers who crarry out transactions with/to virtual asset service
providers authorised in other countries, the provider shall:
- open special accounts for resident clients for the purpose of carrying out these types of
transactions;
- shall not allow the execution of transactions with a cumulative volume exceeding the equivalent
of MDL 50 000 per month for each resident client;
- does not allow the execution of occasional transactions of this type;
- implement specialised IT solutions for the purpose of enhanced monitoring of this type of
transactions, including for determining the origin of the goods involved and ensuring the traceability
of transactions.
- In case the customer cannot personally be present at the identification (e.g. in the relationship by
correspondence, telephone, e-mail, internet or other electronic means), the Provider applies
enhanced CDD measures by using such procedures as electronic signature, biometric methods,
session keys, etc. At his first visit to the Provider, the customer has to present documents and
information according to the requirements of the present Regulation. In addition, the Provider shall
apply one or all of the following measures:
- request the customer’s identification documents issued by a competent authority or organ,
including specimen signature, other documents, as appropriate, for the customer's file;
- take measures to ensure authenticity of electronic documents transmitted to the Provider;
- use the information provided by a partner (provider, agent, bank) in which the customer holds an
account and which applies at least similar CDD measures and is subject to effective supervision;
- require the first payment to be made on behalf of the customer through an account from another
provider/bank that applies at least similar CDD measures and is subject to an effective supervision,
where appropriate;
- establish and maintain a method of contacting the client, independent of the way remote client
operations are performed.
- In relationships with correspondent institutions, the Provider shall accumulate sufficient
information about its partner to fully understand its field of activity. For this purpose, the Provider
shall:
- obtain information at least on:
a) the governance body of the correspondent institution, its main activities, its business address and
the measures it applies to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing;
b) the purpose of setting up a bank account;
c) the reputation of the correspondent institution including whether it has been the subject of an
investigation or any remedial action relating to money laundering or terrorist financing from
publicly available sources;
- assess how appropriate and effective the policies of the corresponding institution are in
preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing;
- establish the correspondence relationship after obtaining the approval by the responsible
administrator of the Provider;
- obtain document(s) listing responsibilities of the correspondent institution in the field of the
prevention and combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as documents to
confirm the fact that the correspondent institution verifies the identity of its customers and has in
place efficient CDD procedures;
- makes arrangements allowing it to verify the CDD procedures applied by the correspondent
institution and to transmit / receive, upon request, documents and information relating to customers,
their business activity and transactions.
- In case of business relationships or transactions with politically exposed persons, their family
members or persons known to be close associates of politically exposed persons, the Provider, in
addition to the measures specified in item 24, shall apply the following measures:
- the development and implementation of appropriate risk management systems, including riskbased procedures to determine whether a client, potential client or beneficial owner of a client is a
politically exposed person;
- obtaining the approval of the Provider’s responsible person for the establishment of a business
relationship and for the continuation of the business relationship with such clients;
- adoption of appropriate measures for establishing the source of wealth and of goods involved in
the business relationship or transactions with such clients;
- ensuring an enhanced and continuous monitoring of the business relationship.
[Item 56 completed by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
In business relationships or transactions with politically exposed persons, their family members or
persons known to be close associates of politically exposed persons, the Provider shall apply the
enhanced due diligence measures set out in items 1) to 4) for a period of 12 months after the
termination of their significant national or international public office. At the end of that period, the
provider shall, on the basis of a risk assessment determining whether or not the person concerned
continues to present risks in relation to politically exposed persons, apply the due diligence
measures in accordance with the risk identified.
561
. In business relations or in the case of transactions with customers and financial institutions from
high-risk countries (jurisdictions) assigned/monitored by the FATF, in addition to the enhanced due
diligence measures provided for in this Chapter, the Provider shall apply in addition, in accordance
with the required actions by the FATF depending on the risk, one or more of the following
measures:
- limiting the development of the business relationship or the execution of transactions in / from the
country (jurisdiction) with high risk or with persons from this country (jurisdiction) or, as the case
may be, its termiantion;
- assessing, modifying or, as the case may be, terminating the relationship with the corresponding
institution in the high-risk country (jurisdiction);
- carrying out external audit for the Provider’s branches located in the countries concerned.
- closure of the Provider's branch located in the countries (jurisdictions) concerned.
[Item 561
introduced by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
562
. The measures provided for in item 561 as well as other enhanced due diligence measures shall
also be applied if they are requested by the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money
Laundering or by the supervisory authority.
[Item 562
introduced by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
Chapter VIII
PROVIDER’S AGENTS
- The provider applies due diligence measures to agents in order to know their legal form and
property and control structure and will establish business relationships with agents who will
implement the law requirements on prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism
financing. The requirements described in this chapter will not apply to agents who are licensed
reporting entities, regulated and supervised by the National Bank of Moldova, i.e. licensed banks
and non-bank payment service providers. The internal procedures of the Provider upon its agents
must include aspects such as:
- when initiating a business relationship, it is necessary to identify the agent and apply due
diligence measures regarding its previous activity, such as a recent change from the current
relationship with other providers, regardless of whether the agent provides payment services on
behalf of one or more providers, the duration of the activity in the field, the property structure, the
financial soundness, the registration of the agent in the register of payment companies / postal
service providers and the register of companies issuing the electronic money of the agent.
- obtaining additional appropriate information to understand the agent's activity, such as providing
services to other providers, information on prior compliance with the legislation, nature and
expected level of operations, number of customers and geographical exposure.
- when approving a new agent, it is necessary to organize training for the staff of the agent on legal
requirements in the field of money laundering and terrorism financing, the program, internal policies
and procedures for preventing and conformity for combating money laundering and terrorism
financing with the provider’s one. Accordingly, these trainings should be organized periodically.
- provides guidance and assistance to the provider's agent for complying with the provider's
program of prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing.
- ensuring compliance with legislation such as reporting suspicious activities, high value
operations, monitoring of risks related to the domain, reporting and keeping records through the
periodic verification program.
- ensuring a prompt response and remediation of risk situations by remote check method and onsite at the agent and, where appropriate, organizing additional training, suspension or termination of
the business relationship with the agent.
- The provider monitors the agent's activity in order to ensure its proper implementation of the
requirements for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing. The degree
and nature of paying agent’s monitoring depends on the volume of agent’s operations, the method of
monitoring used (manual, automatic or combined), the countries where the money is transferred, the
results of the previous monitoring (if applicable) and the type of activity. In applying a risk-based
approach, the degree of monitoring will be based on the perceived risks, both external and internal,
associated with the agent, such as the products or services provided by the agent, its location and the
nature of the activity.
- The provider monitors the agent's activity under a risk-based approach and identifies specific
risk criteria to determine which paying agent activities need to be reviewed. The specific criteria
defined for this purpose should be periodically reviewed to determine whether they are appropriate
for the established risk levels.
- For the purpose of redressing and minimizing specific risks deriving from the activity of an
agent, the Provider shall implement at least the following measures:
- creating and maintaining a register of high-risk agents.
- the need to apply enhanced due diligence measures in appropriate cases.
- applying limits to cash transactions.
- providing specific trainings for paying agents specific suspicion indicators in order to improve
their knowledge of the field and reporting standards.
Chapter1
IX
REQUIREMENTS ON INFORMATION ACCOMPANYNG TRANSFER OF FUNDS
- This chapter refers to transfers of funds, carried out in any currency, which are transmitted or
received by a Provider or an intermediary provider.
- The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to transfers of funds carried out by using a
payment card, an electronic money instrument, a mobile phone or any other digital or IT prepaid or
postpaid device with similar characteristics, provided the following conditions are met:
- the card, electronic money instrument or device is used exclusively to pay for goods or services;
- the number of the card, electronic money instrument or device accompanies all money transfers
resulting from the transaction.
However, this chapter shall apply where a card, electronic money instrument, a mobile phone or any
other digital or IT prepaid or postpaid device with similar characteristics is used to transfer funds
between natural persons acting as consumers for purposes other than trade, business or professional
activity, including industrial and handicraft.
- This chapter shall not apply to a transfer of funds when it:
-
involves cash withdrawal from the payer's own payment account;
-
constitutes a transfer of funds to a public authority as payment for taxes, fines or other levies;
-
is carried out between payment service providers, as the payer and the payee of the payment,
acting on their own behalf;
-
is carried out through cheque images exchanges, including truncated cheques.
631
. This chapter shall not apply to:
1 Chapter IX amended by NBM Decision No. 8 of 13.01.2025, in force 16.01.2025
-
the services listed in art. 2 para. (2) (1)-(13) and (15) of the Law no. 114/2012 on payment
services and electronic money;
-
persons that have no activity other than to convert paper documents into electronic data and that
do so pursuant to a contract with a payment service provider, or to persons that have no activity
other than to provide payment service providers with messaging or other support systems for
transmitting funds or with clearing and settlement systems.
Section 1
Obligations of provider of the payer
- The payer’s provider shall ensure that the transfers of funds are accompanied by the following
information regarding the payer:
- the full name of the payer (name/surname and name):
- the number of the payer's payment account;
- the payer's address, including the name of the country, identity document number and customer
identification number (ex. IDNP/IDNO) or, alternatively, the payer’s date and place of birth; and
- the current LEI of the payer, subject to the existence of the necessary field in the relevant
payments message format and where provided by the payer or, in its absence, any available
equivalent official identifier.
- The payer’s provider shall ensure that the transfer of funds is accompanied by the following
information regarding the payee:
- the full name of the payee (name, surname and name);
- the number of the payee's payment account; and
- the current LEI of the payee, subject to the existence of the necessary field in the relevant
payments message format and where provided by the payer or, in its absence, any available
equivalent official identifier.
- By way of derogation from item 64 sub-item 2) and item 65 sub-item 2), in the case of transfers
not effected from or to a payment account, the payer's provider shall ensure that the transfer of funds
is accompanied by a unique transaction identification code instead of the payment account
number(s).
- Before transferring funds, the payer’s provider shall verify the accuracy of information specified
in item 64 and, where applicable, in item 66, based on documents, data or information obtained from
a reliable and independent source, taking into account the provisions of this Regulation.
671
. The obligation to verify the accuracy of the information on the payer referred to in item 67 shall
be deemed to be fulfilled if the payer’s provider applies due diligence measures in order to verify the
identity if the payer, updates and retains the information on the payer in accordance with the
provisions of Chapters V-VII and XI.
- By way of derogation from item 64 and, where applicable, without prejudice to the information
required in accordance with the Regulation on credit transfer, direct debiting, and the assignment of
IBAN codes, approved by the Decision of the Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova no.
108/2023, where the payment service provider of the payee is established outside the Republic of
Moldova, payer’s provider shall ensure that the international transfers of funds with a value not
exceeding 20000 lei and do not appear to be linked to other transfers of funds which, together with
the transfer in question, would exceed 20000 lei, are accompanied by at least the information on the
payer and payee's names and the payment account number of the payer and of the payee or, when
item 66 is applicable, the unique transaction identifier.
681
. By way of derogation from item 67, in the situation provided by item 68, the payer’s provider
has the obligation to verify the information on the payer only when it:
- has received the funds to be transferred in cash or in anonymous electronic money; or
- has reasonable grounds for suspecting money laundering or terrorist financing.69. In the case of
the batch file transfers made by a single payer to several payees whose payment service providers
operate outside the Republic of Moldova, the provisions of item 64 shall not apply to the individual
transfers bundled together therein, provided that the batch file transfer contains the information
referred to in items 64, 65 and 66, that this information has been verified in accordance with items
67 and 671
, and that the individual transfers are accompanied by the number of the payer's payment
account or, where item 66 is applicable, by the unique transaction identifier.
691
. By way of derogation from item 64 and 65 and, where applicable, without prejudice to the
information required in accordance with the Regulation on credit transfer, direct debiting, and the
assignment of IBAN codes, approved by the Decision of the Executive Board of the National Bank
of Moldova no. 108/2023, where all payment service providers involved in the payment chain are
established in the Republic of Moldova, transfers of funds shall be accompanied by at least the
payment account number of the payer and payee, or where item 66 applies, the unique transaction
identifier. In this case, within maximum three working days of receiving a request for information
from the payment service provider of the payee or from the intermediary payment service provider,
the payer’s provider shall make available the following information:
- on the payer or the payee in accordance with items 64-66, for transfers of funds exceeding 20000
lei, whether such transfer is carried out in a single transaction or in several transactions which
appear to be linked;
- the name of the payer and of the payee and the payment account number of the payer and of the
payee or, where item 66 applies, the unique transaction identifier. In this case, the obligation to
verify the information on the payer corresponds to that provided for in item 681
.
- The Provider shall not execute any transfer of funds unless full compliance with the provisions
of items 64-691 has been ensured.
Section 2
Obligations of the provider of the payee
- The payee’s provider shall put in place and implement effective procedures, including, where
appropriate, controls after or during the transfer, in order to determine whether the fields relating to
the information on the payer and payee in the messaging or payment and settlement system used to
effect the transfer of funds have been filled in using character or inputs compatible in accordance
with the conventions of that system and in accordance with the requirements of items 64 sub items
1)-3), 65 sub items 1)-2), 66, 68, 69 and 691of this Regulation.
711
. In case of transfer of funds in the amount exceeding 20000 lei, whether those transfers are
carried out in a single transaction or in several transactions which appear to be linked, prior to
crediting the payee’s account or making funds available to him, the payee’s provider shall verify the
accuracy of the information on the payee referred to in items 65 sub items 1)-2), 66, 68, 69 and 691
based on documents, data or information obtained from a credible and independent source, taking
into account the provisions of this Regulation.
72. In case of transfers of funds which are not exceeding the threshold established in item 711
, the
payee’s provider shall verify the completeness and accuracy of the information on the payee referred
to in item 711 only in the following situations:
- when the payment is made in cash or in anonymous electronic money; or 2) when there are
reasonable grounds for suspecting money laundering or terrorist financing.
721
. The obligation to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information on the payee referred
to in items 711 and 72 shall be deemed to be fulfilled if the payee’s provider applies due diligence
measures in order to verify the identity of the payee, updates and retains the information on the
payee in accordance with the provisions of Chapters V-VII and XI.
- The payee’s provider shall apply effective risk-based procedures, including procedures referred
to in item 11, based on the risk-sensitive basis regarding customer due diligence measures, to
determine whether to execute, reject or suspend a transfer of funds where complete information on
the payer and the payee is missing and for taking the appropriate follow-up actions.
- Where upon the receipt of funds the payee’s provider finds that the information specified in
items 64 sub items 1)-3), 65 sub items 1)-2), 66, 68, 69 and 691
is missing or is incomplete, or has
not been filled in using characters or inputs admissible in accordance with the conventions of the
messaging or payment and settlement system as referred to in item 71, the provider shall reject the
transfer or request the required provision information on the payer and the payee before or after
crediting the payee's account or making the funds available to them, depending on the associated
risk.
- Where a payment service provider making the transfer repeatedly fails to provide the required
information on the payer or payee, the payee’s provider shall take steps which may first include
issuing warnings and setting deadlines, before proceeding to either rejecting any transfer of funds
executed by this payment partner, or deciding, where appropriate, to restrict or terminate the
business relationship with it. The provider of the payee shall inform the National Bank of Moldova
about those omissions, as well as on the taken measures.
751
. The Provider, when acting as the provider of the payee or, where applicable, when is acting as
both the payer's and payee's provider, shall take into account all the missing information on the
payer and the payee to assess whether the transfer of funds or any related transaction is suspicious
and whether it should be reported to the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money
Laundering according to the legislation.
Section 3
Obligations of intermediary provider
- The intermediary provider shall put in place and implement effective procedures, including,
where appropriate, controls after or during the transfers, to determine whether the fields relating to
the information on the payer and payee in the messaging or payment and settlement system used for
the transfer of funds have been filled in using characters or inputs compatible in accordance with the
conventions of that system and in accordance with the provisions of items 64 sub items 1)-3), 65 sub
items 1)-2), 66, 68, 69 and 691 of this Regulation and shall ensure that all information received on
the payer and payee accompanying a transfer of funds is kept together with that transfer.
[Item 77 repealed by NBM Decision No. 8 of 13.01.2025, in force 16.01.2025]
78. The intermediary provider shall establish effective risk-based procedures for determining
whether to execute, reject or suspend a transfer of funds where the required information on the payer
and the payee is missing and for taking appropriate follow-up actions.
79. Where upon the receipt of funds the Provider finds that the information specified in items 64 sub
items 1)-3), 65 sub items 1)-2), 66, 68, 69 and 691
is missing or is incomplete, or has not been filled
in using characters or inputs compatible in accordance with the conventions of the messaging or
payment and settlement system, as referred to in item 71 and 76, the Provider shall reject the transfer
or request the required information on the payer and the payee before or after the transmission of the
funds, depending on the associated risk.
80. Where the payment service provider making the transfer fails to provide repeatedly the required
information on the payer or payee, the payee’s provider shall take steps which may first include
issuing warnings and setting deadlines, before proceeding to either rejecting any transfer of funds
executed by them, or deciding, where appropriate, to restrict or terminate the business relationship
with this provider. The intermediary provider informs the National Bank of Moldova about these
omissions, as well as about the measures taken.
801
. The intermediary provider shall take into account missing information on the payer or the payee
when assessing whether a transfer of funds or any related transaction is suspicious and whether it
should be reported to the Office for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering in accordance
with art. 11 of the Law no. 308/2017 on the prevention and combating money laundering and
financing of terrorism.
Chapter X
ACTIVITY AND TRANSACTION REPORTING
81. The Provider commits to report the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money
Laundering, in accordance with Article 11 of Law No 308/2017, of:
- any suspicious goods, activities or transactions suspicious to be related to money laundering, to
predicate offences and to terrorism financing that are in course of preparation, attempting,
accomplishment, or are already performed – immediately or, latest, within 24 hours after the
Provider has identified any action or circumstances that raise suspicions;
- any cash transactions or operations, with a value exceeding MDL 200 000 (or its equivalent),
carried out through one or more related transactions during a month, starting on the first day and
ending on the last day of the month – up to the 5th day of the month following the month in which
the operations or transactions were carried out
- any transactions conducted through an operation with a value of at least MDL 200 000 (or its
equivalent) – and which does not fall under the provisions of subitem 2) – by the 10th of the month
following the month in which the transactions were carried out.
- transactions made through money remittance systems with a value of at least MDL 40 000 (or its
equivalent) - within 5 days from the moment of the transaction.
[Item 81 amended by the Decisions of the NBM No 324 of 20.12.2018, in force as of 04.02.2019]
- The Provider shall have in place:
- clear procedures, developed in compliance with the provisions of the Law no. 308 of 22
December 2017 on the Prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing,
which were made known to the entire staff and which provide for the reporting by personnel of all
suspicious activities and transactions;
2) systems for detecting suspicious activities and transactions according to the established criteria
and indices, including by competent authorities;
3) procedures for informing the responsible administrator on issues related to the prevention and
combating of money laundering and terrorism financing.
83. The Provider shall, as appropriate, inform the National Bank in accordance with Law No. 308 of
22 December 2017 on the prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing,
suspicious activities and transactions, fraud cases that essentially affect the provider's security,
stability or reputation.
Chapter X
DATA STORAGE
84. The provider shall keep all documents, data and information obtained under this Regulation,
including those obtained under due diligence measures concerning customers and beneficial owners,
information obtained by electronic means as part of the romote customer identification and identity
verification process such as copies of identification documents, archives of primary accounts and
documents, business correspondence, results of analyzes and research carried out, during the active
period of the business relationship and for a period of 5 years from its termination or from the date
of carrying out the occasional operations. The retained data must be sufficient to permit the
reconstitution of each activity or transaction in the manner in which it is necessary to serve as
evidence in criminal proceedings, contraventions and other legal proceedings.
[Item 84 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
85. The procedures of records and information storage shall include at least the following, as
appropriate:
- keeping a register of all customers and identified beneficial owners, which shall contain at least:
the full name of the customer; IDNO / IDNP, as appropriate; the account number; the account
opening and closing date;
- keeping all primary documents, including business correspondence;
- keeping files containing records regarding the identification and verification conducted on
customers and beneficial owners; files containing records of the monitored customer transaction and
the transaction supporting documents;
- keeping records of all conducted transactions "(type, volume, currency, destination, etc.),
including complex and unusual transactions;
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1
) keeping records and information on transfers of funds, including in cases where the technical
limitations of the payment system do not allow the transmission of all information by the
intermediary institution;
- archiving information on conducted transactions and related business correspondence in IT
systems and ensuring that the archived data are safe and quickly accessible for operational purposes.
[Item 85 completed by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
- The Provider shall ensure that any document and information obtained as a result of the
customer (beneficial owner) identification and verification procedures, any data related to
transaction monitoring, including transaction supporting documents relating to domestic and
international transactions, are accessible and available, in an opeartional manner, to the National
Bank of Moldova and the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, upon
request. Based on the request of the competent authorities, in accordance with item 9 paragraph (2)
of Law No 308 of 22 December 2017 on the Prevention and combating of money laundering and
terrorism financing, the record storage period established for the information related to customers
and their transactions may be extended for a period specified in the request but not more than 5
years.
Chapter XII
INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
87. The Provider shall have in place internal control systems that will ensure the continuous
compliance with the applicable regulatory acts and the existing internal program in the field of
prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing, that will contribute to
reducing the related risks.
88. The provider's internal control system depends on several factors including the nature, scale and
complexity of the payment service provider's business, the diversity of its operations, including
geographic diversity, customer base, product and activity profile, the degree of risk associated with
each jurisdiction of its operations and distribution channels, that is, the extent to which the provider
interacts directly with the customer or through the paying agents.
89. When establishing subsidiaries and branches in the territory of other states as well as during their
activity, the Provider shall apply measures developed for the prevention and combating of money
laundering and terrorism financing in accordance with its own internal control system, internal
policies and procedures and regulatory acts of the Republic of Moldova insofar as the legislation of
the host country permits. Where the host country (jurisdiction) promotes less rigorous requirements
for the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing, the Provider shall
ensure the implementation of the requirements set forth in Moldovan regulatory acts insofar as the
law of the host country (jurisdiction) permits. Where the host country (jurisdiction) does not allow
proper application of the requirements set forth in Moldovan regulatory acts, the Provider shall
apply appropriate additional measures to mitigate the risk of money laundering and terrorism
financing and inform about this fact the National Bank of Moldova within two months’ period. The
National Bank may exercise its supervision in accordance with the legal framework to ensure
compliance of the Provider’s subsidiaries and branches established in the territory of other states
with the relevant applicable regulatory acts; in the case of failure to comply with relevant regulatory
acts, the National Bank of Moldova may restrict the activity of a respective subsidiary or branch, or
withdraw its approval through which it authorized the establishment of the Provider’s subsidiary or
branch in the territory of another state. In applying this item, the National Bank of Moldova issues
technical standards on the type of additional measures and minimum steps to be taken by the
Provider if the rules of law of another country (jurisdictions) do not allow the implementation of the
measures provided for in this item.
891
. In case of the opening of subsidiaries in other countries, at the level of the financial group, the
internal control system and the program to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist
financing shall include, in addition to the elements set out in items 91-94, the following additional
elements:
-
policies and procedures for the exchange of information for the purpose of enforcing customer
precautions and managing the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing;
-
requirements for the provision of information within the group on customers, accounts and
transactions, where this is necessary for the application of measures to prevent and combat money
laundering and terrorism financing;
-
adequate requirements regarding the confidentiality of information subject to the exchange of
professional secrecy and personal data, as well as the use and processing of such information.
[Item 891
introduced by NBM Decision no. 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
- The provider who performs operations through agents should include them in their internal
control systems for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing and
monitor them to comply with their provisions.
- The internal control system shall include at least the following elements:
- an independent audit conducted by the provider's staff or an audit firm/external auditor to verify
the provider’s compliance with the provisions regarding the prevention and combating of money
laundering and terrorism financing. In this context, the audit shall include:
a) independent assessment of the program on prevention and combating of money laundering and
terrorism financing and of the compliance with law requirements;
b) monitoring staff performance by compliance testing;
c) operations testing in case of necessity;
d) informing the responsible administrator on the assessment’s results and recommending measures
to be taken to minimize identified risks and shortcomings;
- the appointment of person, who is administrator, as responsible for ensuring compliance with the
applicable legislation on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing
(hereinafter referred to as "responsible person"). For this purpose, the responsible person shall have
the following tasks:
a) to provide advice to the provider's employees on issues arising during the implementation of the
program on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorism financing, including
on the identification and examination of provider’s customers and the assessment of the risk of
money laundering and terrorism financing;
b) to take decisions based on the information received;
c) to take measures for reporting to the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money
Laundering in accordance with the law;
d) to organize trainings for the provider’s employees in the field of the prevention and combating of
money laundering and terrorism financing;
e) to collaborate with the audit entity/officers in view of verifying compliance of the provider's
activity with the legislation in the field of the prevention and combating of money laundering and
terrorism financing;
g) to perform other functions in accordance with this Regulation and the internal documents of the
provider;
- internal provisions on the liability and sanctioning of employees who deliberately do not inform /
report about any suspicious activities or transactions to the responsible person or directly to the
competent authority and / or personally facilitate carrying out of transactions, which are part of the
money laundering and terrorism financing schemes.
- The person conducting the provider's audit analyzes the implementation of the program for
preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing by the provider and submits a
report in writing on the results of the analysis performed to the responsible person of the provider.
- The Provider shall have in place programs for recruiting and ongoing training of the staff in the
field of prevention and combating money laundering and terrorism financing. The Provider shall
ensure that its personnel has appropriate knowledge, skills, including reputational ones, and abilities
to effectively fulfil their responsibilities in the field of prevention and combating money laundering
and terrorism financing.
94. The recruiting and training programs referred to under item 93 shall cover various aspects of the
process of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing as well as of
obligations arising under the relevant legislation, including:
- training of new employees on the importance and basic requirements set by the respective
programs;
- training of the frontline staff (employees who work directly with customers) in checking the
identity of new clients, performing an ongoing monitoring of accounts / transactions conducted by
existing customers, tracking indices and reporting of activities and transactions that raise suspicions
or are subject to reporting;
- regular updating of staff responsibilities;
- new techniques, methods and schemes of money laundering and terrorism financing;
- the level of staff involvement in the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist
financing process.
The curriculum of staff trainings must be adapted to the individual needs of each provider.
- The Provider shall process the customers’ personal data collected in compliance with the
requirements of this Regulation and ensure their confidentiality, taking into account the
requirements of the applicable regulatory acts on the personal data protection.
Chapter XIII
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION
OF INTERNATIONAL RESTRICTIVE MEASURES
- The Provider shall immediately apply restrictive measures related to terrorist activities and
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to assets, including those obtained from or generated
by assets owned, held or controlled, directly or indirectly, in full or in common, by persons, groups
and entities involved in terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
subject to restrictive measures, persons, groups and entities acting on behalf of, at the indication,
who make part of or are controlled, directly or indirectly, by such persons, groups and entities.
[Item 96 amended by NBM Decision No 38 of 11.03.2021, in force 02.07.2021]
- For the application of restrictive measures under item 96, the Provider shall develop internal
rules and procedures that shall include at least the following elements:
-
procedures for collecting, keeping and updating the list of persons, groups and entities involved in
terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction subject to international
restrictive measures (including through the use of existing databases), in compliance with the
provisions of the Law no. 308 of 22 December 2017 on the prevention and combating money
laundering and terrorism financing and the Law no.25 of 4 March 2016 on the application of
international restrictive measures, using in this purpose the Order of the Director of the Security and
Intelligence Service on the lists of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist activities;
-
procedures for screening / detection of designated persons or entities and of transactions
/payments involving assets, which could be applied to potential customers, existing customers or
customers conducting occasional and money transfer transactions;
-
competences of persons responsible for the implementation of internal rules and procedures for
the application of international restrictive measures to block funds;
-
procedures for internal information dissemination / reporting as well as for reporting to the Office
for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering.
- Upon identification of assets owned, including assets derived from or generated by such assets
held, or controlled, directly or indirectly, wholly or jointly by persons, groups and entities involved
in terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction subject to restrictive
measures, the Provider shall undertake the following steps:
- based on the decision of the Provider’s responsible person, shall put on hold, for an indefinite
period of time, the execution of operations and transactions, which are being prepared, attempted,
implemented or already carried out direct or indirect for the benefit, in whole or in part, of any
persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction subject to restrictive measures, legal persons/entities owned or controlled, directly or
indirectly, by such persons, groups or entities, as well as persons, groups and entities acting on
behalf of, or at the direction of, such persons, groups and entities;
- immediately inform, but not later than within 24 hours after the application of the restrictive
measures, the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, about its putting on
hold, for an indefinite period of time, the execution of operations and transactions. The submitted
information shall include at least the following:
a) data and information (name of natural / legal person, IDNO / IDNP, if any, country of
origin/residence, the list of the competent authority / organization which is referred to in the
restrictive measure applied, etc.) on the person, group or entity identified;
b) data and information (amount, currency, payee, destination, etc.) of identified assets;
c) information on the decision of the Provider’s responsible person to put on hold, for an indefinite
period of time, the execution of operations and transactions relating to identified assets;
- where applicable, the Provider shall accept additional payments made by a third party, or the
increase of the value of identified assets and extend the scope of the restrictive measure to include
these assets, taking into account the provisions of item 98 sub-item 1), and shall duly inform on the
above the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, in compliance with the
provisions of item 98 sub-items 2) a) and b);
- inform the National Bank of Moldova of the restrictive measures applied in compliance with the
provisions of item 98 sub-item 2) a) and b).
-
In case of any identity doubts or suspicions that do not allow the Provider to form a firm opinion
as to the identity of the person, group or entity included in the list referred to under item 34 par. (11)
of Law No 308 of 22 December 2017 on the Prevention and combating money laundering and
terrorism financing, the Provider shall immediately, but not later than within 24 hours, inform on the
above condition the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering.
-
The Provider shall ensure a constant monitoring of the official websites of the United Nations,
the European Union and the Security and Intelligence Service in order to ensure the appropriate
applicability of restrictive measures to persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist activities
and in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Chapter XIII
OTHER DISPOSITIONS
-
Where a Provider is found to be in breach of the provisions of this Regulation or of the
obligations arising under the legislation on the prevention and combating of money laundering and
terrorism financing, the National Bank of Moldova imposes sanctions to the Provider in accordance
with the legislation in force.
-
When applying the present Regulation, the Provider shall inform the National Bank of
Moldova of any suspicious activities and fraud incidents posing risks for the bank's safety, stability
or reputation.
[Item 102 amended by the Decision of the NBM No 324 of 20.12.2018, in force as of 04.02.2019]
Annex is repealed