Law No. (20) of 2019 Issuing the Law on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

Law No. (20) of 2019
Issuing the Law on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

We, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
Emir of the State of Qatar,
Having reviewed the Constitution,
And Law No. (4) of 1978 concerning the supervision, inspection, and stamping of precious metals, amended by Law No. (12) of 1990, And Law No. (8) of 1996 concerning supervision, and its amended laws, And Law No. (10) of 2002 concerning the Public Prosecution, and its amended laws, And the Courts Law issued by Law No. (40) of 2002, And Law No. (3) of 2004 concerning the combating of terrorism, amended by Decree-Law No. (11) of 2017, And the Penal Code issued by Law No. (11) of 2004, and its amended laws, And Law No. (12) of 2004 concerning Associations and Private Institutions, and its amended laws, And the Criminal Procedure Law issued by Law No. (23) of 2004, amended by Law No. (24) of 2009, And Law No. (30) of 2004 regulating the profession of accountants, And Decree-Law No. (21) of 2006 concerning Public Benefit Private Institutions, and its amended laws, And the Lawyers Law issued by Law No. (23) of 2006, and its amended laws,

And the Law on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism issued by Law No. (4) of 2010, And Law No. (8) of 2012 concerning the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, amended by Decree-Law No. (22) of 2018, And the Law of the Qatar Central Bank and Regulating Financial Institutions issued by Law No. (13) of 2012, And Law No. (6) of 2014 regulating real estate development, And Law No. (15) of 2014 concerning the regulation of charitable work, And the Commercial Companies Law issued by Law No. (11) of 2015, And Law No. (22) of 2017 regulating real estate brokerage activities, And the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, accession approved by Decree No. (130) of 1990, And the United Nations Convention against Corruption, ratified by Decree No. (17) of 2007, And the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000, accession approved by Decree No. (10) of 2009, And the Arab Convention on Combating Corruption, ratified by Decree No. (37) of 2012, And the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 1999, accession approved by Decree No. (20) of 2018, And Cabinet Resolution No. (7) of 2007 establishing the National Committee for Combating Terrorism, and its amended resolutions, And the draft law submitted by the Council of Ministers, And after taking the opinion of the Shura Council, We have decided the following Law:

Article (1)
The provisions of the Law on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, attached to this Law, shall be applied.

Article (2)
The Council of Ministers shall issue the executive regulations for the attached Law. Until the issuance of these regulations, the currently enforced decisions shall remain in effect, insofar as they do not conflict with the provisions of the attached Law.

Article (3)
Violators of the provisions of the attached Law shall regularize their status in accordance with its provisions within six months from the date of its implementation. The Council of Ministers may, by decision, extend this deadline for one or more additional periods.

Article (4)
Law No. (4) of 2010 referred to above is repealed, as is every provision that conflicts with the provisions of the attached Law.

Article (5)
All competent authorities shall implement this Law within their respective jurisdictions. It shall be enforced from the day following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar

Issued at the Diwan Amiriyah on: 12 / 1 / 1441 AH Corresponding to: 11 / 9 / 2019 AD

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Law on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism
Chapter One
Definitions

Article (1)
In the application of the provisions of this Law and its executive regulations, the following words and expressions shall have the meanings indicated alongside each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:

Term	Meaning
The Bank	Qatar Central Bank.
The Governor	The Governor of the Bank.
The Committee	The National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism referred to in Article (29) of this Law.
The Unit	The Financial Information Unit referred to in Article (31) of this Law.
Competent Authority	Any public authority entrusted with specific responsibilities to combat money laundering or the financing of terrorism.
Regulatory Authorities	Authorities competent to license financial institutions, specified non-financial businesses and professions, and non-profit organizations, or to supervise them, or to ensure their compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements, as specified by the Regulations.
The Authority	The Charitable Activities Regulatory Authority.

Predicate Offense: Any act constituting a felony or misdemeanor, according to the laws in force in the State, whether committed inside or outside the State, provided it generates proceeds and is punishable in both states.

Means: Everything used or intended to be used, wholly or partially, to commit any of the crimes of money laundering or the financing of terrorism.

Proceeds of Crime: Any assets derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, through the commission of any predicate offense, including the profits, interest, gains, or any other output generated by such funds, whether they remain as is or are converted wholly or partially into other currencies or investment returns.

Funds: Assets or property, of any kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, including financial assets and economic resources such as oil and other natural resources and all rights related thereto, regardless of their value and method of acquisition, and all documents or legal instruments of any form, including digital or electronic images, that prove ownership of such assets or a share therein, as well as profits.

Terrorist Act:

• 1 - Any act constituting a terrorist crime according to the law regulating the combating of terrorism or international conventions related to the combating of terrorism to which the State is a party.
• 2 - Any act intended to cause the death of a person, or to inflict serious bodily injury on a person, provided that such person was not taking an active part in hostilities during an armed conflict, and the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a group of people, or to compel a government or international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.

Terrorist: Any natural person who intentionally commits any of the following acts:

• 1 - Committing or attempting to commit terrorist acts, by any means, directly or indirectly, and unlawfully.
• 2 - Participating as an accomplice in terrorist acts.

Terrorist Entity: Any group of terrorists who intentionally commits any of the following acts:

• 1 - Committing or attempting to commit terrorist acts, by any means, directly or indirectly, and unlawfully.
• 2 - Participating as an accomplice in terrorist acts.
• 3 - Organizing terrorist acts or directing other persons to commit them.
• 4 - Participating with a group of persons, acting with a common purpose to commit terrorist acts, with the intent to expand terrorist activity, or with knowledge of the group's intention to commit a terrorist act.

Freezing: The prohibition of any transfer, conversion, disposal, or movement of funds, equipment, or other means, based on a decision taken by a competent authority, for the duration of the validity of this decision, or until a decision is issued to lift the freeze, or the competent court issues a confiscation judgment.

Seizure: The prohibition imposed on the transfer, exchange, disposal, movement, or transfer of funds, based on a decision issued by a judicial body or competent authority that effectively controls and manages them, for the entire duration of the decision's validity.

Confiscation: The permanent deprivation of funds, based on a judicial judgment.

Financial Institution: Any person who conducts, as a business activity, one or more of the activities or operations for the benefit of the client or on their behalf, as specified by the Regulations.

Financial Group: A group consisting of a parent company, or any other type of legal person, that holds controlling shares and coordinates functions with the rest of the group to exercise control over it, with branches or subsidiaries subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies and procedures at the group level.

Specified Non-Financial Businesses and Professions: Includes the following businesses, activities, or professions:

• 1 - Real estate brokers, when they conduct transactions related to the purchase or sale of real estate or both on behalf of clients.
• 2 - Dealers in precious metals or gemstones, when they participate in cash transactions with their clients equal to or exceeding the minimum amount specified by the Regulations.
• 3 - Authorized notaries, accountants, and certified public accountants, whether practicing individually, as partners, or as professionals working in professional firms, when preparing, executing, or conducting transactions on behalf of or for the benefit of their clients regarding any of the following activities:
  • a - Buying or selling real estate.
  • b - Managing client funds, securities, or other assets.
  • c - Managing bank accounts, savings accounts, or securities accounts.
  • d - Organizing contributions for the establishment, management, operation, or other entities of companies.
  • e - Establishing legal persons or legal arrangements, or managing, operating, selling, or buying commercial entities.
• 4 - Providers of investment fund and company services, when preparing or executing transactions on behalf of clients related to the following activities:
  • a - Acting as a nominee for legal persons in the establishment of companies.
  • b - Acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a director, secretary of a company, partner in a company, or person in a similar role, with respect to other legal persons.
  • c - Providing a registered office, business address, mailing address, or administrative address for a financial company or legal person or arranging for another legal person or legal arrangement.
  • d - Acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a trustee of an investment fund, or performing a similar function for another legal arrangement.
  • e - Acting or arranging for another person to act as a shareholder on behalf of another person.
• 5 - Any other business or profession to be specified by a decision of the Council of Ministers, based on the Committee's proposal.

Non-Profit Organization: Any entity, legal person, legal arrangement, or organization that collects or disburses funds for charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social, or solidarity purposes, or to achieve one or more public benefit purposes.

Direct Investment Fund: A contractual vehicle under which a person places funds under the management of a trustee for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries or for a specific purpose.

Legal Arrangement: Direct investment funds or any similar arrangements.

Negotiable Financial Instruments: Cash instruments in the form of bearer documents, such as traveler's checks and negotiable instruments including checks, promissory notes, and payment orders, which are either bearer, payable to order without restrictions, issued to a fictitious beneficiary, or in any other form where the right transfers upon delivery, and incomplete instruments, including numbered checks, promissory notes, and payment orders, but with the payee's name deleted.

Beneficial Owner: The natural person who ultimately owns or controls the client, or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted, as well as the person who ultimately exercises effective and final control over a legal person or legal arrangement.

Politically Exposed Persons: Individuals who have been entrusted with prominent public functions, whether in the State, in a foreign country, or in an international organization.

Risks
Shell Bank: A bank that has no physical presence in the country or territory where it was established and licensed, and does not belong to a regulated financial group. The phrase "physical presence" in a country or territory refers to the existence of actual management within the country or territory of establishment, empowered to make decisions, and not merely the presence of a local agent or lower-level employees.

Correspondent Relationship: The provision of banking services by a correspondent bank to another responding bank.

Client: Any person or legal arrangement dealing with financial institutions or specified non-financial businesses and professions.

Financial Intelligence: Conducting financial inquiries into the financial aspects related to parallel criminal activity conducted concurrently with a criminal investigation or within the context of money laundering, terrorist financing, or a predicate offense, for the purpose of:
1- Determining the scope of criminal networks or the scope of the crime.
2- Identifying and tracing proceeds of crime and funds of terrorists subject to or to be subject to confiscation.
3- Preparing evidence that can be used in criminal proceedings.

Business Relationship: A continuing relationship arising between the client and a financial institution or specified non-financial business or profession regarding the services provided to them.

International Organizations: Entities established under formal political arrangements between member states, which are arrangements possessing treaty status and legally recognized by member states, and are not treated as restricted institutional units in the countries where their headquarters are located.

Person: Natural person or legal person.

Legal Person: Any entity other than a natural person that can establish a permanent business relationship with a financial institution or own an asset, including a company, institution, association, or any similar entity.

Remitter: The account holder who allows the telegraphic transfer to be made from it, or the person who issues an order to the financial institution to execute the telegraphic transfer, in the case of no account.

Financial Sanctions: Freezing and prohibiting funds to prevent them from being made available, directly or indirectly, to designated persons and entities, according to the law concerning the combating of terrorism.

Money or Value Transfer Service: The financial service involving the acceptance of cash, checks, or other monetary instruments or value stores, and the payment of an equivalent amount in cash or any other form to a beneficiary by means of communication, message, transfer, or through a clearing network to which this service belongs, specialized in the transfer of money or value.

Risk-Based Approach: The set of measures and procedures aimed at identifying, assessing, understanding, and mitigating the risks of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Regulations: The executive regulations of this Law.

Chapter Two
Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

Article (2)
[Note: The source text labels this Article (3) but it follows Article (1) definitions and precedes Article (3) in standard numbering, or refers to Money Laundering. The text says "Article (3)" but the content is clearly Money Laundering. However, looking at the source text provided: "مادة (٧) يُعد مرتکباً لجريمة غسل أموال..." Wait, the source text has a typo in the prompt's provided text. It says "مادة (٧)" for Money Laundering and "مادة (٣)" for Terrorist Financing. Let's look closely at the provided text block.

The provided text block says:
"مادة (٧) يُعد مرتکباً لجريمة غسل أموال..."
"مادة (٣) يُعد مرتکباً لجريمة تمويل الإرهاب..."

This seems to be a transcription error in the source text provided in the prompt (likely meant to be Art 2 and 3, or 3 and 4). I must transcribe faithfully. I will use the article numbers as they appear in the source text provided, even if they seem out of order or typoed, or I will translate the content accurately. The prompt says "Transcribe... faithfully... preserves every... number". I will use the numbers as written in the source text: Article (7) for Money Laundering and Article (3) for Terrorist Financing, as per the source text provided.

Actually, looking at the source text again:
"مادة (٧) يُعد مرتکباً لجريمة غسل أموال..."
"مادة (٣) يُعد مرتکباً لجريمة تمويل الإرهاب..."

I will translate these exactly as labeled in the source.

Article (7)
Any person who intentionally commits any of the following acts is guilty of the crime of money laundering:
1- Financing funds or transferring them, knowing that they are proceeds of a crime, or participating in any of these crimes, with the intent to conceal or disguise the illegal source of such funds, or to assist any person who committed this crime to evade the legal consequences of their actions. 2- Concealing or disguising the true nature of the funds, their source, their location, the manner of their disposal or movement, their ownership, or the rights related thereto, knowing that they are proceeds of a crime. 3- Acquiring, possessing, or using funds, knowing at the time of receipt that they are proceeds of a crime. 4- Participating, associating, conspiring, assisting, instigating, facilitating, providing advice, cooperating, contributing, or conspiring in the commission or attempt to commit any of the acts specified in this Article.

The crime of money laundering is considered an independent crime separate from the predicate offense.
When it is proven that the funds are proceeds of a crime, it is not required that the person has been convicted of committing the predicate offense.
Persons who commit the predicate offense shall not be exempted from punishment for money laundering.

Article (3)
Any person who intentionally and unlawfully provides or collects funds by any means, directly or indirectly, for use or knowing that they will be used wholly or partially for any of the following, is guilty of the crime of financing terrorism:
1- Committing a terrorist act or terrorist acts.
2- By a terrorist or a terrorist entity, even in the absence of a link to a specific terrorist act or terrorist operations.
3- Financing the travel of individuals to a country other than their country of residence or nationality, for the purpose of committing a terrorist act, or preparing or planning for it, or participating in it, or providing or receiving terrorist training. 4- Organizing, directing others to commit, or attempting to commit any of the acts specified in this Article. 5- Participating, conspiring, assisting, instigating, facilitating, providing advice, cooperating, contributing, or conspiring in the commission or attempt to commit any of the acts stipulated in this Article.

The funds used in the crime of financing terrorism include any funds, whether from a legal or illegal source, regardless of whether they were actually used in the execution or attempt to execute a terrorist act or their connection to any specific terrorist act. The crime of financing terrorism is established regardless of whether the person accused of committing it is located in the country where the terrorist or terrorist entity is located, or in the country where the terrorist act was or will be committed, or in another country. The crime of financing terrorism is considered a predicate offense for the crime of money laundering.

Article (4)
The provisions of Article (46) of the Penal Code referred to above shall apply to the crimes stipulated in Articles (3) and (7) of this Law.

Article (5)
Knowledge and intent required to prove the crime of money laundering or the crime of financing terrorism may be inferred from objective factual circumstances.

Chapter Three
Preventive Measures

Article (6)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions shall identify their money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and study, understand, assess, and document them upon request. In doing so, they shall take into account the risks that may arise from the development of new products and professional practices or from new technologies before their use. Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions must take into account the risks identified at the national level and any other influencing factors when conducting risk assessments.

Article (7)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions shall adopt a risk-based approach by establishing risk-based internal policies, procedures, and controls, and effectively implement them to manage the risks they have identified, including those specified in the national risk assessment, and reduce them in proportion to the nature and size of their business, reviewing, updating, and enhancing them as necessary. They shall apply those internal policies, procedures, and controls to all their branches and subsidiaries in which they hold a majority stake. The Regulations shall specify the internal policies, procedures, and controls to be established in implementation of the provisions of this Article and in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Article (8)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions shall establish appropriate systems and apply preventive measures to verify their compliance with the provisions of this Law regarding targeted financial sanctions.

Article (9)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions are prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or clearly fictitious name accounts.

Article (10)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions shall take due diligence measures when:
1- Establishing a business relationship.
2- Conducting occasional financial transactions equal to or exceeding a specified amount.
3- Executing occasional transactions via telegraphic transfers in the cases specified in Article (18) of this Law.
4- Suspecting the existence of money laundering or terrorist financing, regardless of the transaction amount.
5- Having doubts about the validity or sufficiency of previously obtained identity identification data.

Article (11)
Financial institutions and specified non-financial businesses and professions shall take due diligence measures, including procedures to identify and verify the identity of regular or occasional clients, relying on original documents, data, or information from an independent and reliable source. These procedures shall include the following: