Article 34 AMLR – Scope of application of enhanced due diligence measures
1. In the cases referred to in Articles 29, 30, 31 and 36 to 46, as well as in other cases of higher risk that are identified by obliged entities pursuant to Article 20(2), second subparagraph, obliged entities shall apply enhanced due diligence measures to manage and mitigate such risks appropriately.
2. Obliged entities shall examine the origin and destination of funds involved in, and the purpose of, all transactions that fulfil at least one of the following conditions:
| (a) | the transaction is of a complex nature; |
| (b) | the transaction is unusually large; |
| (c) | the transaction is conducted in an unusual pattern; |
| (d) | the transaction does not have an apparent economic or lawful purpose. |
3. With the exception of the cases covered by Section 2 of this Chapter, when assessing the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing posed by a business relationship or occasional transaction, obliged entities shall take into account at least the factors of potential higher risk set out in Annex III and the guidelines adopted by AMLA pursuant to Article 32, as well as any other indicators of higher risk such as notifications issued by the FIU and findings of the business-wide risk assessment under Article 10.
4. With the exception of the cases covered by Section 2 of this Chapter, in cases of higher risk as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, obliged entities shall apply enhanced due diligence measures, proportionate to the higher risks identified, which may include the following measures:
| (a) | obtaining additional information on the customer and the beneficial owners; |
| (b) | obtaining additional information on the intended nature of the business relationship; |
| (c) | obtaining additional information on the source of funds, and source of wealth of the customer and of the beneficial owners; |
| (d) | obtaining information on the reasons for the intended or performed transactions and their consistency with the business relationship; |
| (e) | obtaining the approval of senior management for establishing or continuing the business relationship; |
| (f) | conducting enhanced monitoring of the business relationship by increasing the number and timing of controls applied, and selecting patterns of transactions that need further examination; |
| (g) | requiring the first payment to be carried out through an account in the customer’s name with a credit institution subject to customer due diligence standards that are not less robust than those laid down in this Regulation. |
5. Where a business relationship that is identified as having a higher risk involves the handling of assets with a value of at least EUR 5 000 000, or the equivalent in national or foreign currency, through personalised services for a customer holding total assets with a value of at least EUR 50 000 000, or the equivalent in national or foreign currency, whether in financial, investable or real estate assets, or a combination thereof, excluding that customer’s private residence, credit institutions, financial institutions and trust or company service providers shall apply the following enhanced due diligence measures, in addition to any enhanced due diligence measure applied pursuant to paragraph 4:
| (a) | specific measures including procedures to mitigate risks associated with personalised services and products offered to that customer; |
| (b) | obtaining additional information on that customer’s source of funds; |
| (c) | preventing and managing conflicts of interest between the customer and senior management or employees of the obliged entity that undertake tasks related to that obliged entity’s compliance in relation to that customer. |
By 10 July 2027, AMLA shall issue guidelines on the measures to be taken by credit institutions, financial institutions and trust or company service providers to establish whether a customer holds total assets with a value of at least EUR 50 000 000, or the equivalent in national or foreign currency, in financial, investable or real estate assets and how to determine that value.
6. With the exception of the cases covered by Section 2 of this Chapter, where Member States identify cases of higher risks pursuant to Article 8 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, including as a result of sectoral risk assessments carried out by the Member States, they may require obliged entities to apply enhanced due diligence measures and, where appropriate, specify those measures. Member States shall notify to the Commission and AMLA their decisions imposing enhanced due diligence requirements upon obliged entities established in their territory within 1 month of their adoption, accompanied by a justification of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks underpinning such decision.
Where the risks identified by Member States pursuant to the first subparagraph are likely to stem from outside the Union and may affect the Union’s financial system, AMLA shall, upon a request from the Commission or on its own initiative, consider updating the guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 32.
7. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 85 to supplement this Regulation where it identifies additional cases of higher risk as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article that affect the Union as a whole and enhanced due diligence measures that obliged entities are to apply in those cases, taking into account the notifications by Member States pursuant to paragraph 6, first subparagraph, of this Article.
8. Enhanced due diligence measures shall not be invoked automatically with respect to branches or subsidiaries of obliged entities established in the Union which are located in third countries referred to in Articles 29, 30 and 31 where those branches or subsidiaries fully comply with the group-wide policies, procedures and controls in accordance with Article 17.