Anti Money Laundering
(AML)
The Code of Criminal Law (Penal Code) of Curacao lays down the procedures for the prosecution of a money laundering oence as well as the measures for the confiscation of property upon a conviction of money laundering, measures for the freezing of assets when a person is charged with an oence of money laundering and measures for the issuance of an investigation and/or aachment order when a person is suspected of having commied an oence of money laundering.
The policies and procedures in this Manual aim to comply with
both the rules and guidance contained in the NOPML, the NORUT and the
NOIS which regulations themselves are referring to the Penal Code.
In addition to these regulations the Central Bank of Curacao and
Sint Maarten has introduced a comprehensive framework with provisions
and guidelines to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist
financing (hereinaer: the “Provisions and Guidelines” or “P&G”).
Curaçao – as a member of the FATF – has based these Provisions and
Guidelines on, among others, the FATF recommendations.
Both the NORUT and the NOIS are applicable on entities which are
oering the possibility to take part in oshore hazard games (online
gambling) in or out of Curaçao which is the case for the Company. The
NOIS prohibits subject persons from forming a business relationship or
carrying out an occasional transaction with an applicant for business
unless said subject person maintains the following measures and
procedures established in relation to that business in accordance with
the provisions of the NOIS:
customer due diligence measures;
record-keeping procedures;
and
internal reporting procedures.
The Company is obliged to
apply the above measures and procedures including the cases when
entering into or undertaking non-face-to-face relationships or
transactions directly o indirectly through its aliated group Company.
The Company is also obliged to ensure that employees are made
aware of applicable AML/CFT legislation as well as the subject
person’s policies and measures in this regard. Employees must undergo
appropriate due diligence procedures prior to their engagement and are
also expected to be provided with training regarding the recognition
and handling of transactions carried out by, or on behalf of, any
person who may have been, is, or appears to be engaged in money
laundering or the funding of terrorism.
AML Risk
A clear statement of the culture and values
adopted towards the prevention of financial crime;
A commitment to ensuring that identity will be satisfactorily
verified in all cases and in a risk-based manner, before applicants
for business are accepted as clients;
A commitment to ongoing customer due diligence throughout the
business relationship;
A commitment to ensuring that sta are trained and aware of the
law, their legal obligations, and how to meet those obligations.
A clear allocation of roles, responsibilities and organizational
structure, and recognition of the importance of sta promptly reporting
their suspicions internally.
AML risk factors
An AML business risk assessment overview
will be maintained in order to allocate and track the components of
the separate risk classifications.
Customer risk
Interface risk
Geographical risk
Risk
Assessment
The Implementing Procedures state that the purpose of the
risk-assessment procedures is to enable the Company to be in a
position to identify and assess the ML/FT risks that the subject
person is or may become exposed to and thereby determine:
Whether the application of enhanced due diligence is necessary;
The point in time when the application of customer due diligence in
accordance with the NOIS to existing customers is to be carried out;
and Whether a customer presents a low risk of ML/FT for the purposes
of delaying the performance of verification proceedings to aer the
commencement of a business relationship.
Risk-based approach
Risk assessment for the Company is carried out on at on-boarding
stage (prior to engagement) and subsequently at periodic monthly
intervals. Customers of the Company are subject to risk-based initial
and ongoing due diligence procedures. Initial due diligence seeks to
obtain the identity of the customer and verify the identity prior to
the establishment of the business relationship.
Information on the purpose and intended nature of the business
relationship, is also obtained, such that the Company is able to
establish the business and risk profile of the customer and to accept
or reject a client. Ongoing procedures ensure that the initial due
diligence information remains up-to-date. The risk-based approach to
the prevention of financial crime is reflected in the approach to the
operation and development of the systems and controls designed to
minimize the risk of the Mirage Corporation being used for the
purposes of financial crime. Risk is central to the development of the
business, new products, development of product functionality or the
operation in new markets.
Financial crime risk assessment
Financial crime risk assessments are undertaken on an ongoing basis, and in particular, applied when the business environment changes through, for example:
Entry into new markets
Development of new products or product features
Functionality
The results of the financial crime risk assessment will be used
to support the development of appropriate systems and controls
(policies and procedures) designed to minimize the risk of being used
for the purposes of financial crime. Developments will be reported to
the Board.
Risk mitigation
We seek to minimize the opportunities for
carrying out financial crime, i.e., money laundering or funding of
terrorism, and to then address and mitigate any risks. Internal
controls focus on:
Due diligence of clients, including levels of enhanced due
diligence based on risk assessments of each customer;
Assessing
risks and seing out measures to mitigate the said risks;
Monitoring
key risk factors for reassessing a specific customer’s risk;
Financial
crime systems and controls will continue to be developed over time in
order to adequately address the changing risk environment.
Existing
systems and controls will be reviewed and where necessary amended to
reflect changes in assessed risk and identified vulnerabilities.
Monitoring controls
The Provisions and Guidelines state that it
is essential that the controls to manage and mitigate the identified
risks are constantly monitored. This should be done so that in the
event of a change in circumstances, which might mitigate or exacerbate
a particular risk, the respective control is modified accordingly.