Understanding KYC requirements for DNFPBs in Qatar
DNFPBs are regulated by laws issued through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as the Qatar Central Bank (QCB). These laws exist for the protection of your business and well as the larger financial market, and many are enforced through penalties and fines. and how Eltizam Solutions can help you fulfill the requirements of the law. sed Anti-Money Laundering requirements for businesses. Failure to meet take a look at our handy guide for DNFPBs to see which laws are relevant to your business these regulations may result in severe sanctions from the QFC Regulatory Authority.
The following is a list of Articles and a breakdown of their requirements as mentioned in Law No. (20) of 2019 Promulgating the Law on Combating Money Laundering (ML) and Financing of Terrorism (FT) that apply to DNFPBs and pertain to KYC.
Article no. 7
DNFBPs are required to have a risk-based management system in place that means you need a risk-scoring system in place to identify whether your customers are high, medium or low risk customers. Additionally, all internal controls, policies, procedures should be reviewed, updated and enhanced where required.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Eltizam Solutions has a holistic risk-based management system in place that has been built by compliance experts. It automatically categorises customers according to their risk level based on the requirements laid out in regulatory policies. Idenfo Direct can also support DNFBPs in the creation of AML policies and procedures.
Article no.11
DNFBPs should implement due diligence measures such as identifying their customers (permanent or occasional) and verifying their identities using reliable, independent source documents, data or information. They should do this by: 1. Verifying the identity of any person acting on behalf of the customer and validate their representation 2. Verify the identity of the beneficiary through documentation, information or data from a reliable source 3. Obtain information on the purpose of business relation or transaction and understating its true nature 4. Before doing business with a customer, DNFBPs must determine what they do, who owns it, and who really benefits from it. If this information cannot be found or if there is suspicion about the information’s authenticity, do not continue the business relationship and inform the authorities about suspicious customers.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Eltizam Solutions offers all-in-one compliance under one platform covering ID verification (including Facial Comparison and Liveness Detection), biometric verification, name screening and adverse media checks, as well as CDD and EDD solutions. Additionally, Idenfo Direct also offers Know Your Business (KYB) checks, so your business is covered from all angles when it comes to compliance. Our name screening lists are always accurate, up-to-date and reliable and include Qatar MOI, UN, OFAC, EU, HMT and other regional GCC lists.
Article no.13
DNFBPs need to apply EDD or Enhanced Due Diligence measures which match the level of risk for their customers, whether they are dealing with individuals, companies or even institutions of countries which have been identified as ‘High risk’ by the committee. They should also apply any additional measures required by regulatory authorities in accordance with the committee’s suggestions when it comes to high risk countries.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Eltizam Solutions offers Know Your Customer (KYC) as well as Know Your Business (KYB) checks, and is able to verify identities, run name screening checks, and assign a risk status to your customer or a business you are working with. This allows you to know any time you are entering a relationship with a high risk individual or company, so that you can take the appropriate action in accordance with compliance requirements and the law. Eltizam Solutions has built-in EDD checks including questions on Source of Wealth, Source of Funds as well as a PEP (Politically Exposed Person) questionnaire.
Article no.14
DNFBPs need to regularly check their records, especially for high-risk customers and business relationships. They should make sure the information they have on customers is up-to-date. It’s also important to keep an eye on transactions to make sure they match the customer s information and the risks involved.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
With Eltizam Solutions’ holistic KYC and KYB solution, you can store customer and company information on the platform, and request a customer information refresh when required. The system also runs daily checks to ensure all our name screening lists are automatically upto-date and accurate, so your customers go through our checks daily and any changes to their status will generate a trigger alert for your review. Eltizam Solutions also collects expected transactional information so customers’ actual transactions can be compared against their declaration.
Article no.15
DNFBPs must apply due diligence measures according to the risk-level of their customer. For example, EDD or Enhanced Due Diligence is required for customers that represent a higher risk of Money Laundering (ML) or Financial Terrorism (FT). Simple due diligence is sufficient for low-risk customers where there is no risk of ML or FT.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Eltizam Solutions has built-in risk-factors covering all FATF and QCB requirements including geographic, product, channel and customer risk so when inputting data, clients are automatically classified to the appropriate risk.
Our platform also has built-in overrides to high and sanction risk for clients who fall in to particular categories such as PEPs or those with adverse media hits.
Article no.16
DNFBPS must have a risk-management system in place to help determine if a customer is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) or an RCA (Relative or Close Associate) of a PEP. Extra due diligence should be applied when such a person has been identified.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Eltizam Solutions has all PEP and RCA identification thresholds in place and will automatically highlight a customer who may fall into either category. From here, you can decide how and when to apply extra due diligence measures through the system.
Article no.20 & 48
DNFBPs must keep all transaction records, documents, and data for at least ten years. This includes information gathered during background checks, account files, and any analysis results. These records should be detailed enough to help in investigations if needed. Authorities can request access to this information, and it must be provided promptly.
How Eltizam Solutions can help
Our platform keeps all customer information via a profile page, and maintains audit trails so you can provide evidence of having completed all due diligence requirements. You can also download customer information, or store it in the system and access it at any time as long as your account is active.
