On 19 April 2012 a bill amending the Acts to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism was submitted to the Second Chamber of parliament. The bill will amend the Dutch Act on money laundering and prevention of terrorist financing and its counterpart for the BES countries. This bill aims to extend and improve the Act to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism. The changes implement recommendations made by the FATF, in particular concerning:
- client due diligence
- notification of unusual transactions
- criminal and civil indemnification of institutions that have notified the authorities of suspicious activities
The bill also provides for exchange of information between supervisors. The bill anticipates expected changes to European rules following recent recommendations of the FATF. It concerns tightening of the rules in client due diligence with regard to the client's representative and identification of front man structures, the assessment whether the ultimate beneficiary of the client can be qualified as a politically prominent person, and extension of the term 'politically prominent person' to residents of the Netherlands who do not have the Dutch nationality.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
