NEW MONEGASQUE LAW STRENGTHENING THE FIGHT AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING, TERRORIST FINANCING AND CORRUPTION (AML/CFT/CO)

The purpose of Law No. 1.503 of 23 December 2020 is to strengthen the legislative body in the Principality of Monaco with regard to the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption.

Although published in the Journal de Monaco No. 8519 of 1st January 2020, the entry into force of the provisions of Law No. 1.503 is staggered over time.

This new law aims to transpose the provisions of European Union law referred to in Annex B of the Monetary Agreement between the Principality of Monaco and the European Union dated 29 November 2011, in particular the EU Directive No. 2018/843, known as the "Fifth Directive".

The persons subject to the AML/CFT/CO provisions are very diversified: among others:

• trustees;
• property traders;
• art professionals;
• multi family offices;
• sports agents.

The contributions of Law No.1503 are, in particular :

• the widening of the accessibility of the register of beneficial owners and the register of trusts;
• the creation of a register of payment accounts, bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes, kept by the Service d'Information et de Contrôle sur les Circuits Financiers (SICCFIN) on the basis of declarations made by financial institutions;
• giving details of the enhanced vigilance measures to be implemented with regard to business relationships or operations involving high-risk third countries.

Please note that, to date, the Sovereign Order providing further details on this law has not been published in the Journal de Monaco. We will keep you informed of its publication.

Our teams are available to answer your questions on the AML/CFT/CO provisions, which are of highly technical nature, to assist you in their implementation, and to defend your interests in the event of criminal proceedings initiated against you for breach of your compliance obligations.