Anti-money laundering Act
Money laundering is a practice whereby people aim to make illegally obtained funds legal. In order to tackle this problem, the Anti-money laundering Act (Act of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and limiting the use of cash) was enacted.
This Act is based on:
- the 40 International Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing and proliferation (1.13 MB) "pdf"
- the Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC, since amended in the fifth AML Directive 2018/843 of 30 May 2018 (see unofficial coordination).
Games of chance appear to be a frequently used method of money laundering.
Requirements for operators
Operators of games of chance have various obligations under the Anti-money laundering Act to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism by players.
- Organisation and internal control
The obligations as regards organisation and internal control are the following:
1. Development of policies, procedures and internal control measures by subjected entities, commensurate with their size, and approved by a senior manager, in order to:
- comply with the provisions of the Anti-money laundering Act, the decrees and regulations
- comply with the EU Regulation on the transfer of funds
- comply with the provisions on financial embargoes
2. Designation of a responsible person within a legal entity among the members of the administrative body or the effective management.
3. Designation of one or more compliance officers who monitor the implementation of the policies, procedures and internal control measures, analyse atypical transactions and draft written reports.
4. Training of staff whose function requires it (legislation, policies, procedures, special ongoing training programmes).
The same policies, procedures and internal controls shall be applied within a group of companies, including policies regarding data protection and policies on the sharing of information regarding money laundering/terrorist financing within the group.
Specific provisions apply if the subjected entity is located abroad (EU or otherwise).
- General risk assessment
Operators of games of chance identify and assess the money laundering/terrorist financing risks to which they are exposed, taking into account:
- Characteristics of customers
- Characteristics of products
- Characteristics of services or transactions they propose
- Countries or geographical areas concerned
- Supply channels
- Factors indicating lower risk (Annex II of the Anti-money laundering Act)
- Factors indicating higher risk (Annex III of the Anti-money laundering Act)
The policies, procedures and internal control measures must be in line with this.
- Vigilance as regards players and transactions
Various vigilance measures apply according to an individual risk assessment:
- Identification of the player and verification of their identity
- Assessment of the characteristics of the player and the purpose of the transaction
- Permanent vigilance
The Anti-money laundering Act requires operators of games of chance to identify their customers and monitor transactions:
- When a business relationship is entered into (online gaming)
- When a player wishes to place a bet of €2,000 and/or have the same amount paid out
- When there is a suspicion of money laundering
- When there is doubt as to whether an earlier identification is correct
1. Identification and verification
Identification of a player requires that name, first name, date of birth, place of birth and address must be known.
This identity must be verified with supporting documents before the business relationship is entered into (online gaming) and before a transaction takes place.
The time of verification may be deviated from under specific circumstances.
If identification is not possible, no business relationship can be entered into and no transactions may take place.
The validity of a Belgian identity card can be checked via www.checkdoc.be.
In addition to the identification of the player, their characteristics and the purpose and nature of the transactions must be examined.
The first check in this context is a check of the player's means of payment, in order to verify, inter alia, that the means of payment is legally his or hers. This check must take place as soon as possible and in principle before the player proceeds with the transaction.
Certain players represent a higher risk. Heightened vigilance is necessary for such persons.
- Politically Exposed Persons (PEP)
Players who hold a political office or are closely related to a politically exposed person represent a higher risk. There are various databases that contain lists of politically exposed persons. Permission from senior management is required to enter into business relations with politically exposed persons.
- Persons originating from a third country qualified as "high risk country".
You can find an overview of 'high risk countries' here.
- Persons from states with no or low taxes
You can find information about these states here.
- Obligations concerning financial embargoes and freezing of funds in respect of certain persons
Relevant information can be found on the website of the Treasury.
The website contains the lists of persons subject to these financial sanctions.
2. Analysis of atypical transactions
Transactions that do not appear to match the characteristics of the player or do not seem to be intended as participation in games of chance shall be subject to a more intensive examination.
Under the responsibility of the compliance officer, the following are analysed:
- Atypical transactions discovered in the context of the examination of
- the transactions
- the origin of the funds
- the purpose and nature of the business relationship or proposed transaction
- the risk profile of the player
- The reasons why the vigilance obligations cannot be fulfilled
This analysis is intended to verify whether the atypical transactions or the reasons for not being able to comply with the vigilance obligations are related to money laundering or terrorist financing.
A written report of the analysis must be drawn up.
3. Reporting of suspicions
The Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF-CFI) is an independent administrative authority with legal personality under the supervision of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance, and is responsible in Belgium for investigating suspicious financial activities and transactions related to money laundering or terrorist financing.
It is obligatory to report an event to the CTIF-CFI if the subjected entity knows, suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that funds, transactions, or attempted transactions (even if ultimately not carried out by the player) or activities are related to money laundering or terrorist financing. The subjected entity does not have to identify the underlying criminal activity. There is also an obligation to comply with a request for additional information from the CTIF-CFI.
The reporting is done by the compliance officer or, if not possible, the director, a staff member, agent or distributor. The modalities for reporting can be found on the website of the CTIF-CFI.
The reporting is done before the transaction is performed, or immediately after the operation is performed if it is impossible to postpone the operation, together with the reason.
4. Storage of data and documents
The following documents must be stored:
- Identification details, updates and copy of supporting documents (or reference to them in strict cases) to verify the identity
- Supporting documents and registration details of transactions necessary for the identification and accurate reconstruction of the transactions carried out
- The written report drawn up following analysis of atypical transactions or impossibility to follow the vigilance measures
The documents must be stored for 10 years.
Cash
According to the Gambling Act, operators may accept transactions made by a player in order to participate in the games of chance or cash bets up to €3,000.
For transactions in which an operator makes a payout to a player, a maximum of €3,000 can be paid in cash.
Gaming Commission
The Gaming Commission (GC) is competent for monitoring compliance with the statutory provisions of the Anti-money laundering Act.
Violations can be reported to the GC via control@gamingcommission.be, whereby the identity of the informant may not be disclosed to the subjected entity, and the informant may not be sanctioned under any circumstances.
The GC can impose administrative fines for violations, based on the sanctioning procedure in the Gambling Act. These can range from €250 to a maximum of €1,250,000. In addition to administrative sanctions, criminal prosecution is possible.
For reports, you can also contact the federal Ombudsman.
The Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights provides information on these whistleblowing regulations and can offer support to whistleblowers.