Austria’s AML/CTF Authorities
The Austrian Financial Intelligence Unit (A-FIU)
The Austrian Financial Intelligence Unit (A-FIU) is responsible for combating money laundering by receiving, analysing, and disseminating ML/TF related suspect transaction reports.
The Austrian Financial Market (FMA)
TheAustrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is responsible for the supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings,investment firms, investment service providers as well as payment institutions.As a supervisory authority, the FMA supervises compliance with the Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act.
How to comply with AML/CTF regulations in Austria?
The Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act establishes a series of duties for the obliged entities. These include:
- Duty to carry out a risk assessment to identify and assess the potential risks of ML/TF.
- Duty to carry out customer and transaction due diligence measures:
a. When establishing a business relationship
b. When executing occasional transactions:
i. Which involve an amount of at least EUR 15,000 or another currency equivalent invalue; or
ii. Which involves a transfer of funds exceeding EUR 1,000. - For each deposit into savings, and for each withdrawal of savings, if the amount deposited or withdrawn is at least EUR 15,000 or another currency equivalent in value;
- If the institution is suspicious of ML/TF and doubts exist about identification data that was previously obtained.
These due diligence measures will be based on an individual risk assessment and will include:
- Identifying the customer and verifying the customer’s identity
- If applicable, identifying and verifying the beneficial owner, and the trustor and the trustee
- Assessing and obtaining information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship.
- Obtainingand checking information about the source of funds used.
- Conducting ongoing monitoring of the business relationship including scrutiny of transactions.
- Duty to carry out an enhanced due diligence when the risk assessment indicates an increased risk of ML/TF (for example, in the case of politically exposed persons (PEPs)), and possibility of carrying out a simplified due diligence in cases of lower risk.
- Duty to retain:
a. Copies of the documents and information obtained in the customer due diligence, for a period of 10 years after the end of the business relationship or an occasional transaction.
b. Receipts and records of transactions, for a period of ten years after the end of the business relationship or an occasional transaction. - Duty to establish policies, controls and procedures for the effective mitigation and management of risks of ML/TF. These include:
a. Risk classification at customer level
b. Risk management systems
c. Due diligence measures
d. Suspiciousactivity reports
e. Retention of documentation
f. Training of employees on ML/TF provisions, how to recognise operations which may be related to ML/TF, and how to proceed in such cases. - Duty to carry out an internal audit of the policies and procedures.
- Duty to appoint a special officer to ensure compliance with the Act and a member of the management board to ensure that provisions intended to prevent or combat ML/TF are complied with.
What are my AML/CTF Reporting obligations?
The obliged entities shall inform the A-FIU, by means of a suspicious activity report, if they know, suspect, or have reasonable grounds to suspect, that:
An attempted, upcoming, ongoing, or previously conducted transaction is related to asset components originating from one of the criminal activities listed in Article 165 StGB (money laundering offences); or
An asset component originates from one of the criminal activities listed in Article 165 StGB
A customer has violated the obligation to disclose trust relationships
The attempted, upcoming, ongoing, orprevious transaction or if the assets are connected to a criminal organisation, aterrorist organisation, a terrorist crime or terrorist financing.
Obliged entities shall also report to the A-FIU all transactions that exceed EUR 100,000 or a currency of equivalent value:
In which the originator or beneficiary is a person whose place of incorporation or residence is in a n non-cooperative country or territory; or
In which are executed into or from an account held at a foreign credit institution or financial institution incorporated in a non-cooperative country or territory.
Credit institutions shall inform the A-FIU without delay about all requests to withdraw savings deposits, if:
The customer’s identity has not yet been determined for the savings deposit, and
The payout is intended to be made from a savings deposit with a credit balance of at least EUR 15,000 or a currency of equivalent value.
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.
