2023-03-29
Added · Updated
The Central Bank of Jordan suspended the prohibition on licensed money changers executing transactions for third-party foreign money changers within the context of dealings with Syrian companies, effective immediately until further notice. This suspension applies provided that money changers maintain separate files for all supporting documentation, obtain prior Central Bank approval for such third-party arrangements, and implement enhanced due diligence and internal risk management policies, including specific transaction caps. The directive mandates strict adherence to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations, requiring updated monitoring scenarios and close scrutiny of transaction patterns to ensure compliance with established limits.
[Logo of the Central Bank of Jordan]
Reference No.: 10/9/17369 Date: 17/9/1444 AH Corresponding to: 9/4/2023 AD
Circular to Licensed Money Changers and Those with Prior Approval from the Central Bank of Jordan to Deal with the Syrian Market
Greetings,
Following the approvals granted to deal with licensed Syrian money changers in the field of incoming and outgoing remittances, which were conditional upon adhering to a set of conditions and requirements specified in the approval letters issued for this purpose, and in line with national efforts aimed at supporting victims of the earthquake in the Syrian Arab Republic, and starting from the Central Bank of Jordan's keenness on licensed money changers providing safe and sound services and avoiding international sanctions related thereto, we inform you that it has been decided to suspend the implementation of the following condition:
"The company shall not execute any transactions on behalf of customers of external money changers (third parties) within the framework of its dealings with the Syrian company, and the beneficial owner in the case of incoming remittances must be located in Jordan, and in the case of outgoing remittances, must be located in Syria."
This is effective until further notice, while the rest of the conditions and requirements governing the dealings of licensed money changers with the Syrian market remain in force, conditional upon compliance with the following:
Establishing internal policies, procedures, and supervisory controls and approving them formally and applying them in practice to manage the risks of this dealing, including setting specific limits for dealing (individual and aggregate limits) that take into account the degree of risk of the dealing and align with any legislation issued for this purpose, and working to provide mechanisms, procedures, and internal controls that monitor non-exceedance of these limits.
Enhancing supervision over these dealings and applying enhanced due diligence procedures regarding them, verifying that the parties to the transaction are clear, and closely following the pattern and nature of these dealings, and updating monitoring scenarios and detection of unusual or suspicious transactions, and working to introduce special scenarios and suspicion indicators to monitor such dealings, in alignment with the effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing instructions for licensed money changers.
The licensed money changer must have obtained approval from the Central Bank of Jordan to deal with external money changers (third parties) for whom transactions will be executed on behalf of their clients within the framework of dealing with the Syrian company.
P.O. Box 37, Amman 11118 - Jordan Phone: +962 6 4630301 * Fax: 4638889, 4639730 Website: www.cbj.gov.jo Email: info@cbj.gov.jo
Please accept our highest regards,
The Governor Dr. Adel Al-Sharkas
[Signature]