Filenews 5 May 2025 - by Theano Thiopoulou
In the name of fighting the proceeds of illegal and criminal activities, dirty money is controlled even more, and credit institutions and entities supervised by the Central Bank should keep an eye on transactions until some suspicious or wrong move rings the bell.
The Central Bank of Cyprus announced on 2 May 2025, the adoption of a new Directive on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism.
The directive, which was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, will enter into force on June 2, 2025. It is issued pursuant to Article 59(4) of Law 188(I)/2007 and strengthens the existing institutional framework, which governs the compliance obligations of banks and other supervised entities.
In the directive, the Central Bank gives some examples of suspicious transactions and activities of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Customers who provide insufficient or suspicious information:
- A client who is reluctant to provide comprehensive information at the commencement of the business relationship regarding the nature and purpose of his business activities, the intended account statement, previous business relationships with institutions, names of directors and consultants or information about the commercial management of the business. The client usually provides minimal or misleading information which is difficult or costly for the obliged entity to verify.
- A customer who provides unusual identity documents, the authenticity of which cannot be immediately verified or which arouse suspicion, whose mobile phone number, or the telephone line of his home or work is disconnected.
- A client who carries out frequent or high-value transactions, without the existence of any evidence/document of his/her previous or current professional experience or knowledge. Activities incompatible with the financial profile:
- The transaction appears to be outside the usual type of transaction of the client and/or the business sector in which he operates, an unnecessarily complex transaction in relation to its commercial purpose. The client's activities are incompatible with the declared tasks and a sudden change in the nature of the client's transactions, incompatible with his normal transactions.
