Money laundering means making illegally obtained assets appear legitimate, so that their illegal origin is no longer visible. Tax fraud also counts as money laundering. Terrorist financing occurs when assets are used to make terrorist activities possible.
Specific Wwft guidelines for notarial firms
Like lawyers, notaries must have Wwft guidelines in place. The main requirements are client due diligence and the reporting obligation. Every notary, whether a junior notary (kandidaat-notaris), an associate notary (toegevoegd notaris) or a civil-law notary, is expected to have a documented process description for risk assessments. In addition, the firm must appoint an independent compliance officer.
Client due diligence
Because of their gatekeeper role, notarial firms make their own assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. A key part of client due diligence is establishing and verifying the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner (KYC, Know Your Customer). If clients act on behalf of a legal entity, you also identify the UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner). Based on a prior risk assessment, you decide whether enhanced due diligence is required.
Risk assessment
You carry out risk assessments and take measures based on the risk profiles, recorded in a traceable and reproducible system. You provide these assessments at the request of the Bureau Financieel Toezicht (BFT, Financial Supervision Office).
Reporting unusual transactions
Notaries report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit Netherlands (FIU-Nederland) and check their own transactions against the Sanctiewet (Dutch Sanctions Act).
Powers of the BFT
Under the Algemene wet bestuursrecht (Awb, General Administrative Law Act, Title 5.2), the BFT has powers that give rise to a duty of cooperation on the part of the notary. For example, the BFT may make copies of business records and documents and may inspect the notary’s personal financial records. The BFT may also obtain information from third parties. The notary has no duty of confidentiality towards the BFT and cannot invoke legal professional privilege.
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