AML

Blockchain ConsultUs Ltd., a company registered in England and Wales, whose Company number is 11595594, takes measures to prevent the company and its officers being exposed to money laundering, to identify areas in which money laundering may occur and to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, especially the process for reporting actual or suspected money laundering cases to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (Money laundering is the process of creating the appearance that large amounts of money obtained from criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a legitimate source.) It is the responsibility of every officer to be vigilant and act promptly in all suspected cases.

Introduction

Blockchain ConsultUs Ltd. takes into consideration the requirements of the UK anti-money laundering regime as set out in:

• the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and the Serious Crime Act 2015)
• the Money Laundering Regulations 2007
• the Terrorism Act 2000 (as amended by the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Terrorism Act 2000 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2007).

The reporting and detection of suspected money laundering

Officers must be vigilant for the signs of money laundering.

Any employee who suspects money laundering activity must report this promptly to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer.

No payment to the company will be accepted in cash if it exceeds £2000.

Where the company is carrying out certain regulated activities during day to day business then the customer due diligence procedure must be followed.

The Money Laundering Regulations are complex and detailed and should there be any doubt about the policy requirements, please request further information from line management.

The Policy

The policy applies to all officers and employees and sets out procedures for the reporting of suspected money laundering activities with the aim to reduce potential criminal activity. The policy defines procedures that will assist the company to comply with any legal obligation.

Failure of an officer/employee to comply with the procedures defined within this policy may lead to disciplinary action.

What is Money Laundering?

Money laundering is the process of creating the appearance that an amount of money obtained from criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a legitimate source. The following acts are defined as acts of money laundering:

• Concealing, disguising, converting, transferring criminal property or removing from the UK (section 327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002).
• To enter into or become concerned in an arrangement which you know or suspect will assist the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property or on behalf of another person (POCA section 328).
• Acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

Two secondary offences are also defined which relate to the failure to disclose any of the three primary acts and tipping off (POCA section 330). Tipping off is where someone informs a person or persons involved in, or suspected to be involved in money laundering acts, in such a way as to reduce the likelihood of their being investigated.

While the risk to the company of breaching legislation is considered to be low, officers in all areas should be aware that they could be potentially exposed to money laundering acts. It is important that all employees’ are aware of their responsibility to report any suspicions of money laundering activity as detailed within this policy.

All officers are responsible to act promptly and report any suspicions to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer to prevent any breach of legislation which can lead to serious criminal penalties.

The Money Laundering Reporting Officer (Monitoring Officer)

The officer nominated to receive disclosures about money laundering activity is the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (Monitoring Officer.) The Monitoring Officer will deal will all disclosures confidentially and make decisions on reporting the activity to the Authorities in charge in the appropriate manner. All reports will be retained for five years. Contact details: Mr Simone Domenico Casadei Bernardi, Senior Managing Partner, [email protected], +44 (0)20 8798 0253.

Reporting

Any employee who suspects money laundering activity should report their suspicions promptly to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer. Upon receipt of the report, the Money Laundering Reporting Officer may contact you directly to discuss the content of the report as required.

No further enquiries should be made about the suspected money laundering after reporting to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer for action. No further steps in any transaction relating to the suspected money laundering should be made without authorisation from the Money Laundering Reporting Officer. For example, if repeated reported cash overpayments are received to a specific account seek guidance from the Money Laundering Reporting Officer before the amounts are refunded as a Blockchain ConsultUs Ltd. cheque.

No disclosure should be made to others that would indicate suspicions of money laundering. Any officer reporting should not discuss the matter with others or note on file that a report has been made to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer as this may result in the suspect becoming aware of the situation.

The Money Laundering Reporting Officer will promptly evaluate any Disclosure Report to determine whether it should be reported to the Authorities in charge.

Failure to report a disclosure to the competent Authorities is considered a criminal offence without reasonable grounds. All disclosures will be retained on file for five years.

Customer Due Diligence

Extra care needs to be taken when the company is carrying out a customer due diligence.

If customer due diligence (CDD) applies, you must seek evidence of identity, for example:

• Check the business’s website to confirm their business address.
• Conduct an online search via Companies house (or the competent homologous foreign Authority) to confirm the nature of business and identity of any directors.
• Seek evidence from the key contact of their personal identity following the guidelines for identifying customers.

Identification must be retained for five years after the end of the business relationship.

Guidance and Training

The company makes all officers aware of the requirements and obligations placed on the company and on themselves as individuals by anti-money laundering legislation and gives targeted training to those most likely to encounter money laundering.