2012-04-02
The Bank of Angola issued Notice No. 13/2012 to regulate the obligations of banking financial institutions regarding customer identification, due diligence, and the establishment of an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing prevention system. The notice mandates specific KYC and KYB procedures, requiring institutions to collect and verify detailed personal and corporate data before establishing business relationships or processing occasional transactions exceeding USD 15,000. It further defines the roles of Compliance Officers, outlines simplified due diligence criteria for low-risk public entities, and permits the delegation of identification duties to regulated third parties under strict supervisory conditions.
BANCO NACIONAL DE ANGOLA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
NOTICE NO. 13/2012
In accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) of 2000, approved by the National Assembly through Resolution No. 21/10 of June 22, as well as any others that may be approved;
Considering the entry into force of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, which establishes preventive and repressive measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing;
Considering international best practices in the field of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing;
Considering that one of the essential components of the system for preventing and repressing money laundering and terrorist financing consists in the implementation of customer identification procedures [Know Your Customer (“KYC”) and Know Your Business (“KYB”) policies], and taking into account that these policies imply the establishment of adequate internal controls and procedures that enable banking financial institutions to know their customers;
There is a need for banking financial institutions to carry out identification and due diligence measures [Customer Due Diligence (‘CDD’)] in order to know their customers, not only regarding their identification, but also, in the case of legal entities, regarding their structure and economic activity, taking into account the type of financial products and services acquired, as well as transactions carried out;
Furthermore, considering that identification and due diligence procedures allow banking financial institutions to identify and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing that their customers may represent, and taking into account that the degree of diligence depends on the risk of each customer, as they require enhanced due diligence measures or simplified due diligence measures;
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Given the foregoing, it has become imperative to define the necessary requirements for establishing business relationships and in the context of occasional transactions, adapting them to the new requirements for identification and customer knowledge and business relationship monitoring, imposed for reasons of legal certainty and prevention of the use of the financial system for illicit purposes, aiming, in particular, to protect consumers of financial products and services from the eventual fraudulent use of their identity, as well as to safeguard the integrity of said system;
Attentive to the purpose of regulating the requirements that, from a strictly banking perspective, must be met in establishing the business relationship, namely in account opening, regardless of the fulfillment of additional obligations of a fiscal, civil, or other nature to which institutions are subject;
Under the terms of the combined provisions of item f) of paragraph 1 of Article 21 and item d) of paragraph 1 of Article 51, both of Law No. 16/10 of July 15 - Law of the Bank of Angola, conjugated with Article 70 of Law No. 13/05 of September 30 - Law of Financial Institutions;
I DETERMINE:
CHAPTER I General Provisions Article 1. Object
In accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12 - Law on the Combat of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - the Bank of Angola regulates, through this notice, the conditions for exercising the obligations provided for in said Law, namely the obligations of identification and due diligence, as well as the establishment of a system for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, including the creation of the Compliance Officer in the organizational structure of banking financial institutions.
Article 2. Scope
The addressees of the norms contained in this notice are the banking financial institutions under the supervision of the Bank of Angola.
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BANCO NACIONAL DE ANGOLA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
Article 3. Definitions
Without prejudice to the definitions established in Article 2 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12 - Law on the Combat of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, for the purposes of this notice, the following are understood:
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iv. funds, institutes, and public bodies endowed with administrative and financial autonomy, with headquarters in national territory;
v. national citizens who are diplomats, consular representatives, or equivalent, exercising functions abroad, as well as members of their families;
vi. national natural persons whose absence abroad for a period greater than 90 days and less than 1 year originates from studies or is determined by the exercise of public functions.
b) foreign exchange non-resident - foreign exchange non-residents in national territory are considered:
i. natural persons with habitual residence abroad;
ii. legal entities with headquarters abroad;
iii. natural persons who emigrate;
iv. natural persons who leave the country for a period greater than 1 year;
v. branches, subsidiaries, agencies, or any forms of representation in foreign territory of legal entities with headquarters in the country;
vi. diplomats, consular representatives, or equivalent acting in national territory, as well as members of their families.
c) for the purposes of the provision in item a) in this point, habitual residents in national territory are considered:
i. all Angolan citizens living in Angola;
ii. all foreign citizens possessing a residence card issued in accordance with applicable legislation.
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CHAPTER II Identification and Due Diligence Procedures
Section I Client Identification
Article 4. Obligation of Client Identification
The identification obligations provided for in Article 5 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12 - Law on the Combat of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - must be adopted by banking financial institutions regarding their clients, and where applicable, their respective representatives, beneficial owners, and, if the case arises, other interveners in the operations.
The aforementioned identification obligations apply not only to new clients of the banking financial institution, but may also apply to existing clients, depending on the assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk associated with them.
In case of doubts regarding the true identity of the client, and where applicable, the representative or beneficial owner, which cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the banking financial institution must refuse the execution of any operations.
Article 5. Establishment of Business Relationship
Banking financial institutions must collect and conserve information regarding clients, their representatives, and beneficial owners, before the start of the business relationship, and must request, at minimum, the following elements:
a) Natural Persons: i. full name and signature; ii. date of birth; iii. nationality; iv. complete address of residence or, if not possible, any other contacts considered valid by the banking financial institution;
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v. profession and employer, when they exist;
vi. name of the identification document used, identification number, expiration date, and issuing entity;
vii. nature and amount of income;
viii. Tax Identification Number (optional).
b) Legal Entities:
i. full corporate name of the legal entity;
ii. corporate object and business purpose;
iii. headquarters address;
iv. Tax Identification Number (NIF);
v. commercial registry registration number;
vi. identity of holders of participations in the capital and voting rights of the legal entity of value equal to or greater than 20%;
vii. identity of the legal entity's attorneys and respective mandate;
c) Regarding sole traders, the elements necessary to initiate the business relationship include the Tax Identification Number (NIF), the corporate name, the headquarters, and the corporate object, in addition to the identification elements referred to in item a) of paragraph 1 of this article;
d) Regarding condominiums of real estate under horizontal property regime and autonomous patrimony, contracted under general legislation, the regime provided for in item b) of paragraph 1 of this article applies, with the necessary adaptations;
e) In commercial companies in the process of constitution, the opening and movement of accounts is regulated by applicable legislation.
2. The verification of the information must be proven, through the presentation of the following valid documents:
a) Natural Persons:
the identification elements mentioned in points i), ii), and iii), item a) of paragraph 1 of this article must be verified as follows:
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- by foreign exchange residents through presentation of the identity card or residence card issued by the competent authority, containing photograph, full name, date of birth, and nationality;
- by foreign exchange non-residents through presentation of the passport, except for foreign exchange non-residents of Angolan nationality through presentation of an identity card, containing photograph, full name, date of birth, and nationality.
i. the complete address of residence, the profession, and the respective employer when it exists, must be proven through any document, means, or diligence considered valid, suitable, and sufficient to demonstrate the information provided;
ii. the identification element mentioned in point viii) of item a) of paragraph 1 of this article must be verified through presentation of the tax identification card or equivalent issued by the National Tax Directorate of the Ministry of Finance.
b) Legal Entities:
i. regarding resident legal entities, the identification elements mentioned in points i), ii), iii), and v) of item b) of paragraph 1 of this article, must be verified through presentation of the commercial registry certificate issued by the Commercial Registry Office or another public document proving it, namely the copy of the Official Gazette containing the publication of the statutes or notarial certificate of constitution;
ii. regarding non-resident legal entities, the identification elements mentioned in points i), ii), and iii) of item b) of paragraph 1 of this article, must be verified through presentation of proof of commercial registry or another valid public document, duly certified by the competent entities of the country of residence, and authenticated by the Angolan consular representation in the country of origin;
iii. the identification element mentioned in point iv) of item b) of paragraph 1 of this article must be verified through presentation of the Tax Identification Card or equivalent issued by the National Tax Directorate of the Ministry of Finance;
iv. the identification elements mentioned in point vi) of item b) of paragraph 1 of this article, must be proven through presentation of the Minutes of the Constituent General Assembly as well as the minutes of alteration to the shareholder or partner structure;
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v. the identification element mentioned in point vii) of item b) of paragraph 1 of this article must be proven through a written declaration issued by the legal entity itself, containing the names of the holders of the management body, attorneys, and representatives.
c) In establishing the business relationship on behalf of minors who, due to their age, are not holders of any of the documents referred to in item a) of paragraph 2 of this article, the proof of their respective identification elements of the minor must be carried out through exhibition of a personal ID card if a foreign exchange resident or by an equivalent public document if a foreign exchange non-resident, to be presented by whoever demonstrates legitimacy as their legal representative for establishing the business relationship, and their respective identity must be verified at the start of the business relationship.
Article 6. Moment of Identity Verification
Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous article, the verification of the identity of the client, representative, or beneficial owner by banking financial institutions may be carried out after the start of the business relationship, provided that:
a) the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is reduced;
b) it occurs in the shortest possible time;
c) it is essential not to interrupt the normal course of business, in the following circumstances, namely:
i. transactions carried out without the physical presence of the client;
ii. securities transactions.
d) the financial institution adopts a system for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing that includes the conditions under which late verification may occur, namely:
i. limitation of the number, type, and/or value of transactions to be carried out at a moment prior to identity verification;
ii. reinforced monitoring of the business relationship between the moment of its establishment and the identity verification.
e) the contrary does not result from legal or regulatory provision.
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Article 7. Occasional Transactions
The banking financial institution must collect and conserve information whenever, in person or remotely, a client intends to carry out occasional transactions whose amount, in national currency, is equivalent to more than USD 15,000.00 (fifteen thousand United States Dollars), regardless of whether the transaction is carried out through a single operation or through several operations that appear to be related.
The obligations mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article are not applicable when the transaction occurs within the scope of a business relationship that the banking financial institution already maintains with its clients.
At minimum, the following identification elements mentioned in paragraph 1 of Article 5 and their respective proof documents contained in paragraph 2 of the same article of this notice must be required from the person or entity intending to carry out the transaction, and where applicable, to their representatives and beneficial owners, namely:
a) natural persons: elements provided for in item a), i), ii), iii), and vi) of paragraph 1 of Article 5; b) legal entities: elements provided for in item b), i), iv), vi), and vii) of paragraph 1 of Article 5; c) sole traders: elements provided for in item a) of this article; d) condominiums of real estate under horizontal property regime and autonomous patrimony: elements provided for in item b) of this article;
If the execution of occasional transactions on behalf of minors who, due to their age, are not holders of any of the documents referred to in item a) of paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this notice is requested, the proof of their respective identification elements of the minor must be carried out through exhibition of a personal ID card if a foreign exchange resident or an equivalent public document if a foreign exchange non-resident, to be presented by whoever demonstrates legitimacy as their legal representative, to carry out the occasional transaction, and their respective identity must be verified at the time of carrying out the occasional transaction.
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Article 8. Mechanisms for Identifying the Beneficial Owner
The banking financial institution must require from the beneficial owner the same elements and proof documents of identification that it would require from the client, in accordance with item a) of paragraph 1 and item a) of paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this notice.
The appropriate means for determining the identity of the beneficial owner must include, namely:
a) authenticated document confirming the identity of the beneficial owner; b) copy of the trust agreement or partnership agreement, or other equivalent document; c) Minutes of the Constituent General Assembly as well as the minutes of alteration to the shareholder or partner structure; d) other reliable information, which is publicly available and which the banking financial institution considers relevant.
Section II Duties of Due Diligence
Article 9. Duty of Continuous Monitoring
Within the scope of the obligation provided for in item d) of Article 7 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, for the purposes of continuous monitoring of the business relationship, and depending on the assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk, the following information must be requested:
a) nature and details of the business, occupation, or employment; b) record of changes of domicile; c) origin of the funds to be used in the business relationship; d) origin of initial and continuous income; e) the various relationships between signatories and their respective beneficial owners.
The banking financial institution, whenever it considers necessary, may request additional information from clients, based on the transactions carried out by them and the risk assessment performed, such as the Annual Report and Accounts, among others.
Article 10. Execution of Obligations by Third Parties
In accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, banking financial institutions are authorized to allow the execution of identification and due diligence obligations regarding clients by intermediaries or third parties to comply with the requirements of Article 5 and items a), b), c) of Article 7 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12 or to capture business, provided that the following requirements are met:
a) banking financial institutions that resort to a third party must immediately obtain information about the requirements provided for in Article 5 and items a), b), and c) of Article 7 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, as well as Article 4 and paragraph 1 of Article 5 of this Notice. b) banking financial institutions must take adequate measures to ensure that copies of the documentation regarding the identification and due diligence requirements provided for in Article 5 and items a), b), c) of Article 7, of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, as well as in paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this notice, are made available in a timely manner; c) banking financial institutions must carry out and reduce to writing the measures taken to ensure that the third party is a regulated and supervised entity in matters of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing; d) banking financial institutions must reduce to writing the results of the verification carried out on the third party, regarding the measures implemented to effectively fulfill the obligations provided for in Articles 5 and 7 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12.
For the purposes of this article, a third party is considered a financial institution in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, except exchange houses and payment service providers, which are not headquartered in countries that do not apply or apply insufficiently international requirements in matters of money laundering and terrorist financing.
This article does not apply to service outsourcing or agency contracts.
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Section III Simplified Due Diligence Duties
Article 11. Simplified Due Diligence Procedures
In accordance with the terms of Article 9 of Law No. 34/11 of December 12, banking financial institutions must collect sufficient information to verify if the client falls into one of the following categories:
a) The State, or a public law legal entity, of any nature, integrated into central or local administration; b) Authority or public body subject to transparent accounting practices and subject to oversight;
Banking financial institutions must demonstrate to the Bank of Angola, if it so deems necessary, the verification of the inclusion of clients in the aforementioned categories.
The banking financial institution must define criteria to determine if the collected information is sufficient to verify that the client falls into one of the aforementioned categories or professions, namely, the existence