Part IV of Anti-Money Laundering Act extended to Intermediaries for Digital Currency and Digital Token Activities
15 February 2022
Part IV (sections 13 to 27) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (the ‘Act’) has been extended to any reporting institution licensed or registered under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 to carry out any of the following activities:
- providing safe keeping, storing, holding or custody of digital currency or digital token1 for account of other persons; or
- providing intermediation and advisory services relating to an offer or sale of digital currency or digital token.
The obligations under Part IV of the Act include, but are not limited to, the following:
- to maintain a record of the transactions (including prescribed information) involving domestic or foreign currency exceeding such amount (‘prescribed amount’) and in such form prescribed by the competent authority;
- to report to the competent authority any transaction, including an attempted or proposed transaction, exceeding the prescribed amount or where an officer or employee of the reporting institution has reason to suspect involves proceeds of an unlawful activity or instrumentalities of an offence or is related or linked to or used or intended to be used for or by, any terrorist act, terrorist, terrorist group, terrorist entity or person who finances terrorism;
- to conduct customer due diligence in accordance with section 16 of the Act;
- to maintain all documents, records and business correspondence relating to an account, business relationship, transaction or activity with a customer or any person as well as results of any analysis undertaken, for at least six years from the date the account is closed or the business relationship, transaction or activity is completed or terminated; and
- to adopt, develop and implement internal programmes, policies, procedures and controls to guard against and detect any offence under the Act and designate compliance officers to be in charge of the application of such internal programmes and procedures, including proper maintenance of records and reporting of suspicious transactions.
This requirement took effect from 31 December 2021. For more information, please refer to:
This alert contains general information only. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. For further information, kindly contact skrine@skrine.com.