Amendments to Subsidiary Legislation under the PSPM Act and the Guidelines for Regulated Dealers (Version 2.0) with effect from 14 Dec 2020
The Registrar of Regulated Dealers hereby notifies all regulated dealers that amendments to the following subsidiary legislation under the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2019 (“PSPM Act”) will commence on 14 Dec 2020:
The amendments make technical changes to subsidiary legislation under the PSPM Act and introduce a requirement for regulated dealers to submit semi-annual returns related to their business and transactions with effect from 1 Jan 2021. Details on the reporting requirement will be provided in an upcoming Notice from the Registrar.
Pursuant to section 35(1) of the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2019, the Registrar hereby amends the Guidelines for Regulated Dealers in the Precious Stones and Precious Metals Dealers Sector on Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (“Guidelines”) from version 1.1 to 2.0 with effect from 14 Dec 2020:
The main amendments to the Guidelines include:
- Technical updates to reflect the amendments to the Regulations;
- Guidance on the importance of oversight by directors and senior management in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing;
- Guidance on customer due diligence (“CDD”), screening, ECDD and ongoing monitoring requirements;
- Guidance on reporting requirements; and
- Changes to Annexes:
- New infographic: Guide on When to Perform CDD and ECDD Measures;
- Revisions to the Sample Risk Assessment Form and Sample Internal Policies, Procedures and Controls (“IPPC”) Document;
- Changes to Red Flag Indicators for Regulated Dealers highlighting new indicators of suspicious customer behaviour and new threats during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- Updated Sample CDD Forms.
FOR REGULATED DEALERS TO TAKE ACTION:
- Regulated dealers should read the revised Guidelines to better understand what is expected of them.
- Regulated dealers who reference their risk assessments, IPPCs and CDD forms to Ministry of Law’s samples are strongly encouraged to update the relevant documents, where necessary.