AML/CFT Supervisors in France
TRACFIN – Intelligence processing and action against clandestine financial circuits – The Financial Investigation Unit (FIU)
TRACFIN is an intelligence service under the Ministry of Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Sovereignty. By tackling clandestine financial circuits, money laundering and terrorist financing, we contribute to the development of a healthy economy.
TRACFIN can be both:
French Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as defined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), European Directives and the Monetary and FinancialCode (CMF). In this regard, it is responsible for combating covert financial circuits, money laundering and terrorist financing (LCB-FT).
One of the so-called 1st Circuit Community specialized intelligence agencies referred to in Article R. 811-1 of the Internal Security Code (CSI).
This dual identity represents a strong feature of the service as it offers a wide range of specializations and significant research and outsourcing authority. TRACFIN collects and enriches information received regarding suspicious financial transactions.
TRACFIN is not authorized to receive and process information submitted by individuals. This service also needs to process information provided by foreign partners. TRACFIN has a variety of investigative tools at its disposal: Right toInformation, Database Queries, and Intelligence Technology.
The results of the investigation are transmitted to the judicial authorities, affiliated administrations, in particular within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, or to intelligence agencies. There are also many exchanges with overseas counterparts of the service, which are part of an ongoing relationship.
Compliance program to comply with the requirements of TRACFIN - France
Any regulated entity is required to put into effect methods that encompass a robust control which sufficiently guarantees that the TRACFIN requirements of the Anti-Financial crime in terms of onboarding, due diligence, reporting, risk-based approach, ongoing monitoring and others are met, and the necessary SARs are filed to this Financial Investigation Unit of France. This robust control should also comply with ISO 196000 and with the FATF requirements.
In suitable circumstances, a simplified due diligence measures can be accepted if the case under due diligence if classified low risk on the risk-based approach of AML/CFT. Enhanced due diligence measures should be applied on high-risk cases.
Nonetheless, in order to sustain an efficient compliance risk management system, all staff members of an entity should be training about the anti-financial crime compliance; where a Money Laundering Reporting Officer MLRO is supposed to be appointed to manage and lead the culture of preventing the money laundering and the finance of terrorism in this entity.
The Reporting Duties and Obligations
The compliance program detects suspicions that must be escalated to the TRACFIN. The following elements, however now no longer restricted to, make up a Suspicious Financial Transaction:
- Unusual Customer Behavior
- Unusual Customer Identification Status
- Unusual Cash Transactions
- Unusual Non-Cash Deposits
- Unusual Remittance Transactions
- Unusual Credit Transaction Activity
- Unusual Commercial Account Activity
How can MemberCheck Help?
Our clients are provided with a secure and simple solution in regard to scanning for politically exposed or high-risk individuals, as well as checking names against sanction, regulatory, law enforcement, and other official lists.
Use our sophisticated scan filters and due diligence workflow to minimise the amount of time you spend sorting through, false matches. Scan results and reporting sections allow you to access customer details, whenever and wherever required, as well as download reports, to customise for further investigation or to provide evidence of your AML program compliance for auditing purposes.
* This page is intended as general information only and should not be relied on as the sole source of information for your AML obligations and AML program. Please visit your local regulatory authority sites for the latest relevant and full information.
