Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021

Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2021 Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 3 of 2021 CRIMINAL JUSTICE (MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING) (AMENDMENT) ACT 2021 CONTENTS

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Section 9

Section 10

Section 11

Section 12

Section 13

Section 14

Section 15

Section 16

Section 17

Section 18

Section 19

Section 20

Section 21

Section 22

Section 23

Section 24

Section 25

Section 26

Section 27

Section 28

Section 29

Section 30

Definitions 1. In this Act— “Act of 2010” means the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 ; “Act of 2018” means the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018 ; “Regulations of 2019” means the European Union (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2019 ( S.I. No. 578 of 2019 ).

Amendment of section 2 of Act of 2010 2. Section 2 (amended by section 3 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the insertion of the following definition before the definition of “Minister”: “ ‘Fifth Money Laundering Directive’ means Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 20181 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU;”, and (b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(3) In this Act a reference to an Appeal Tribunal shall be construed as a reference to the Appeal Tribunal established under section 101A (inserted by section 24 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021).”.

Amendment of section 3 of Act of 2010 3. Section 3 of the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the insertion, after “Act”, of “(other than section 106ZC (inserted by the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021))”, and (b) in subsection (2), by the insertion, after “Minister”, of “(or, in the case of regulations under section 106ZC, the Minister for Finance)”.

Amendment of section 24 of Act of 2010 4. Section 24 (amended by section 4 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended, in subsection (1)— (a) in the definition of “financial institution”— (i) in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (g), by the substitution of “if section 2(6) of that Act did not apply,” for “if section 2(6) of that Act did not apply;”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (g): “(h) a virtual asset service provider;”, (b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “property service provider”: “(c)‘property service provider’ means a person who provides a property service within the meaning of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 ;”, and (c) by the insertion of the following definitions: “ ‘custodian wallet provider’ means an entity that provides services to safeguard private cryptographic keys on behalf of its customers, to hold, store and transfer virtual currencies; ‘Electronic Identification Regulation’ means Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 20142 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC; ‘virtual asset’ means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes but does not include digital representations of fiat currencies, securities or other financial assets; ‘virtual asset service provider’ means a person who by way of business carries out one or more of the following activities for, or on behalf of, another person: (a) exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies; (b) exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets; (c) transfer of virtual assets, that is to say, conduct a transaction on behalf of another person that moves a virtual asset from one virtual asset address or account to another; (d) custodian wallet provider; (e) participation in, and provision of, financial services related to an issuer’s offer or sale of a virtual asset or both; but does not include a designated person that is not a financial or credit institution and that provides virtual asset services in an incidental manner and is subject to supervision by a national competent authority, other than the Bank;”.

Amendment of section 25 of Act of 2010 5. Section 25 (amended by section 5 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended in subsection (1)— (a) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “, tax adviser or any other person whose principal business or professional activity is to provide, directly or by means of other persons to which that other person is related, material aid, assistance or advice on tax matters” for “or tax adviser”, (b) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (f): “(f) a property service provider including a property service provider acting as an intermediary in the letting of immovable property, but only in respect of transactions for which the monthly rent amounts to a total of at least €10,000,”, (c) in paragraph (i), by the deletion of “or” where it lastly occurs, and (d) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (i): “(ia) a virtual asset service provider, (ib) a person trading or acting as an intermediary in the trade of works of art (including when carried out by an art gallery or an auction house) but only in respect of transactions of a total value of at least €10,000 (whether in one transaction or in a series of transactions that are or appear to be linked to each other), (ic) a person storing, trading or acting as an intermediary in the trade of works of art when this is carried out in a free port but only in respect of transactions of a total value of at least €10,000 (whether in one transaction or as a series of transactions that are or appear to be linked to each other), or”.

Amendment of section 33 of Act of 2010 6. Section 33 (amended by section 11 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) in paragraph (e), by the substitution of “application, or” for “application.”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (e): “(f) at any time where the designated person is obliged by virtue of any enactment or rule of law, including the European Union (Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 549 of 2012 ), to contact a customer for the purposes of reviewing any relevant information relating to the beneficial owner connected with the customer.”, and (b) in subsection (2)— (i) in paragraph (a)— (I) in subparagraph (i), by the deletion of “or” where it lastly occurs, and (II) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (i): “(ia) information from relevant trust services as specified in the Electronic Identification Regulation, or”, and (ii) in paragraph (b)— (I) in subparagraph (i), by the deletion of “and”, (II) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “concerned, and” for “concerned.”, and (III) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii): “(iii) where the beneficial owner is the senior managing official referred to in Article 3(6)(a)(ii) of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, a designated person shall take the necessary measures to verify the identity of that person and shall keep records of the actions taken to verify the person’s identity including any difficulties encountered in the verification process.”.

Amendment of section 33A of Act of 2010 7. Section 33A (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€150” for “€250”, (ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b): “(b) the monetary value that may be stored electronically on the payment instrument concerned does not exceed €150,”, (iii) in paragraph (e), by the deletion of “and”, (iv) in paragraph (f), by the substitution of “€50, and” for “€100.”, and (v) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (f): “(g) the transaction concerned is not a remote payment transaction (within the meaning of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 20153 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC) of an amount exceeding €50.”, and (b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (2): “(3) A credit institution or financial institution acting as an acquirer shall not accept a payment carried out with an anonymous prepaid card issued in a state other than a Member State unless the payment instrument concerned complies with the requirements of subsections (1) and (2).

Amendment of section 35 of Act of 2010 8. Section 35 (amended by section 14 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3): “(3A) Prior to the establishment of a business relationship with a customer to which the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Trusts) Regulations 2019 ( S.I. No. 16 of 2019 ) apply, a designated person shall ascertain that information concerning the beneficial ownership of the customer is entered in the express trust (beneficial ownership) register. (3B) Notwithstanding subsection (3A), a designated person that is a credit institution or a financial institution may allow an account to be opened with it by a customer before ascertaining that the information concerning the beneficial ownership of the customer is entered in the express trust (beneficial ownership) register in accordance with subsection (3A) so long as the designated person ensures that transactions in connection with the account are not carried out by or on behalf of the customer or beneficial owner before ascertaining that information. (3C) Prior to the establishment of a business relationship with a customer to which the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2019 ( S.I. No. 110 of 2019 ) (modified by the European Union (Modifications of Statutory Instrument No. 110 of 2019) (Registration of Beneficial Ownership of Certain Financial Vehicles Regulations 2020) ( S.I. No. 233 of 2020 ) apply, a designated person shall ascertain that information concerning the beneficial ownership of the customer is entered in the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial Provident Societies or, as the case may be, the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts. (3D) Notwithstanding subsection (3C), a designated person that is a credit institution or a financial institution may allow an account to be opened with it by a customer before ascertaining that information concerning the beneficial ownership of the customer is entered in the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial Provident Societies or, as the case may be, Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts in accordance with subsection (3C) so long as the designated person ensures that transactions in connection with the account are not carried out by or on behalf of the customer or beneficial owner before ascertaining that information.”.

Amendment of section 36A of Act of 2010 9. Section 36A (inserted by section 15 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) A designated person shall, as far as possible, in accordance with policies and procedures adopted in accordance with section 54, examine the background and purpose of all transactions that— (a) are complex, (b) are unusually large, (c) are conducted in an unusual pattern, or (d) do not have an apparent economic or lawful purpose.”.

Amendment of section 37 of Act of 2010 10. Section 37 (amended by section 16 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4): “(4A) A designated person shall continue to apply the measures referred to in subsection (4) to a politically exposed person for as long as is reasonably required to take into account the continuing risk posed by that person and until such time as that person is deemed to pose no further risk specific to politically exposed persons.”, (b) in the definition of “politically exposed person” in subsection (10), by— (i) the substitution of “any of the following individuals” for “either of the following individuals”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): “(c) any individual performing a prescribed function;”, and (c) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (11): “(12) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, issue guidelines to the competent authorities in respect of functions in the State that may be considered to be prominent public functions and each competent authority shall have regard to any such guidelines.

Amendment of section 38 of Act of 2010 11. Section 38 (amended by section 17 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended, in subsection (1), by the insertion of “involving the execution of payments” after “correspondent relationship”.

Amendment of section 38A of Act of 2010 12. Section 38A (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) Subject to subsection (2), a designated person shall apply the following measures to manage and mitigate the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing additional to those specified in this chapter, when dealing with a customer established or residing in a high-risk third country: (a) obtaining additional information on the customer and on the beneficial owner; (b) obtaining additional information on the intended nature of the business relationship; (c) obtaining information on the source of funds and source of wealth of the customer and of the beneficial owner; (d) obtaining information on the reasons for the intended or performed transactions; (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 transaction that need further examination.”.

Amendment of section 40 of Act of 2010 13. Section 40 (amended by section 20 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended, in paragraph (b) of subsection (4), by the insertion of “(including any information from relevant trust services as set out in the Electronic Identification Regulation)” after “customer”.

Amendment of section 42 of Act of 2010 14. Section 42 (amended by section 22 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (10): “(11) FIU Ireland shall, where practicable, provide timely feedback to a designated person who is required to make a report under this section on the effectiveness of and follow-up to reports made to it under this section.”.

Amendment of section 51 of Act of 2010 15. Section 51 (amended by section 24 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): “(2) It is a defence in any proceedings against a person for an offence under section 49, in relation to a disclosure, for the person to prove that, at the time of the disclosure— (a) the person was a credit institution or financial institution or a majority-owned subsidiary, or a branch, of a credit institution or financial institution, or made the disclosure on behalf of a credit institution or a financial institution or a majority-owned subsidiary, or a branch, of a credit institution or financial institution, and (b) the disclosure was to— (i) a credit institution or financial institution incorporated in a Member State, where both the institution making the disclosure, or on whose behalf the disclosure was made, and the institution to which it was made belonged to the same group, or (ii) a majority-owned subsidiary or branch situated in a third country of a credit institution or financial institution incorporated in a Member State, where the subsidiary or branch was in compliance with group-wide policies and procedures adopted in accordance with section 54, or, as the case may be, Article 45 of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive.”.

Amendment of section 55 of Act of 2010 16. Section 55 (amended by section 27 of the Act of 2018) of the Act of 2010 is amended, in subsection (2), by the insertion of “(including information from relevant trust services as set out in the Electronic Identification Regulation)” after “customers”.

Amendment of section 58 of Act of 2010 17. Section 58 of the Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of “anonymous passbook or safe-deposit box” for “anonymous passbook” in each place that it occurs.

Amendment of section 60 of Act of 2010 18. Section 60 (amended by section 15 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010 ) of the Act of 2010 is amended in subsection (2)— (a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d): “(d) in the case of a designated person who is a barrister, the Legal Services Regulatory Authority;”, (b) by the deletion of paragraph (da) (inserted by section 214 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 ), (c) by the insertion after paragraph (d) of the following paragraph: “(db) in the case of a designated person that is a property services provider, the Property Services Regulatory Authority;”, and (d) in paragraph (e), by the substitution of “, (d) or (db)” for “or (d)”.

Amendment of section 63B of Act of 2010 19. Section 63B (inserted by the Regulations of 2019) of the Act of 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(2A) Co-operation with Member State competent authorities under this section by a competent authority may include the sharing of information which the competent authority is not prevented from disclosing by the law of the State and the provision of assistance shall not be refused on the basis that: (a) the request for the sharing of information or the provision of assistance is also considered to involve tax matters; (b) the law of the State requires the competent authority to maintain secrecy or confidentiality except in those cases where the relevant information that is sought is protected by legal privilege; (c) there is an inquiry, investigation or proceeding underway in the State, unless the sharing of such information or the provision of assistance would impede the inquiry, investigation or proceeding; or (d) the nature or status of the requesting competent authority is different from that of the competent authority of whom the request is made.”.

Amendment of section 63D of Act of 2010 20. Section 63D (inserted by the Regulations of 2019) of the Act of 2010 is amended, in paragraph (c) of subsection (1), by the substitution of “including standards of confidentiality and data protection and standards addressing conflicts of interest” for “including standards of confidentiality and data protection”.

Reporting breaches to competent authority 21. The Act of 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 63D: “63E. (1) Each competent authority shall establish effective and reliable mechanisms to encourage the reporting of potential and actual breaches of this Act.

Amendment of section 65 of Act of 2010 22. Section 65 of the Act of 2010 is amended by— (a) the designation of that section as subsection (1), and (b) the insertion of the following subsection: “(2) Where a competent authority is not a State competent authority, each annual report published by the authority shall include information regarding the measures taken by the authority to monitor compliance by designated persons with the provisions of this Part.”.

Amendment of section 84 of Act of 2010 23. Section 84 of the Act of 2010 is amended, in subsection (1), by the deletion of the definition of “Appeal Tribunal”.

Appeal Tribunal 24. The Act of 2010 is amended— (a) by the repeal of section 101, and (b) by the insertion of the following section after section 101: “101A. (1) On the commencement of section 24 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 there shall stand established a tribunal which shall be known as the Appeal Tribunal to consider and determine appeals made pursuant to this Act.

Virtual asset service providers 25. The Act of 2010 is amended, in Part 4, by the insertion of the following Chapter after Chapter 9: “Chapter 9A Virtual Asset Service Providers Interpretation 106A. In this Chapter— ‘Act of 1942’ means the Central Bank Act 1942 ; ‘Bank’ means the Central Bank of Ireland; ‘FATF’ means the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism established by the Paris G7 Summit of 1989; ‘prescribed’ means prescribed by regulations made by the Bank; ‘principal officer’ means— (a) in relation to a body corporate, any person who is a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in such a capacity, or (b) in relation to a partnership— (i) any person who is a partner in, or a manager or other similar officer of, the partnership or any person purporting to act in such a capacity, and (ii) in a case where a partner of the partnership is a body corporate, any person who is a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of such a partner or any person purporting to act in such a capacity; ‘registration’ means a registration granted by the Bank under this Chapter to permit a person to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider and, if such a permission is amended under this Chapter, means the registration as amended.

Fit and proper person 106B. For the purposes of this Chapter, a person is not a fit and proper person if any of the following apply: (a) the person has been convicted of any of the following offences: (i) money laundering; (ii) terrorist financing; (iii) an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or breach of trust; (iv) an offence in respect of conduct in a place other than the State that would constitute an offence of a kind referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) if the conduct occurred in the State; (b) in a case where the person is an individual, the person is under 18 years of age; (c) the person— (i) has suspended payments due to the person’s creditors, (ii) is unable to meet other obligations to the person’s creditors, or (iii) is an individual who is an undischarged bankrupt; (d) the person is otherwise not a fit and proper person.

Registrations held by partnerships 106C. (1) A reference in a relevant document to a holder or proposed holder of a registration includes, in a case where the holder or proposed holder is a partnership, a reference to each partner of the partnership unless otherwise specified.

Scope of Bank’s supervision - performance of certain functions 106D. (1) The functions conferred on the Bank under— (a) Parts II, IIIC, VIIA, VIIIA and IX of the Act of 1942, (b) Parts 3 and 4 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010 , and (c) Parts 2, 3, 7 and 9 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 , shall, in addition to being performable for the purposes to which those provisions relate, be performable for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, the Fifth Money Laundering Directive and the Recommendations of FATF.

Obligation on virtual asset service providers to register with Bank 106E. (1) A person shall not carry on business as a virtual asset service provider, claim to be a virtual asset service provider or represent that the person is a virtual asset service provider unless the person is registered with the Bank under this Chapter.

Transitional provision for existing virtual asset service providers 106F. (1) Notwithstanding section 106E, a person carrying on business as a virtual asset service provider immediately before the coming into operation of this Chapter, is taken to be registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider until the Bank has granted or refused an application to register the person, provided that the person applies to the Bank under section 106G for registration, no later than 3 months after that section comes into operation.

Application for registration 106G. (1) An individual, body corporate or partnership may apply to the Bank to be registered under this section.

Grant and refusal of applications for registration 106H. (1) The Bank may refuse an application for registration under section 106G only if— (a) the application does not comply with the requirements of section 106G, (b) the applicant does not provide any additional documents or information in accordance with a notice given under section 106G, (c) the Bank has reasonable grounds to be satisfied that information given to the Bank by the applicant in connection with the application is false or misleading in any material particular, (d) the Bank has reasonable grounds to be satisfied that any of the following persons, is not a fit and proper person: (i) the applicant; (ii) in a case in which the applicant is a body corporate or partnership, any principal officer of the body corporate or partnership (as the case may be); (iii) any person who is, or is proposed to be, a beneficial owner of the applicant, (e) the applicant has failed to satisfy the Bank that the applicant would, if registered, comply with the obligations imposed on the applicant under this Chapter, or as a designated person under this Part, (f) the applicant has failed to satisfy the Bank that the applicant’s business risk assessment, policies and procedures are adequate or fit for purpose, (g) the applicant has failed to satisfy the Bank that it has in place the resources, procedures and arrangements for the provision of the business of a virtual asset service provider and the performance of activities, taking into account the nature, scale and complexity of its business and all the obligations that the provider has to comply with as a designated person under this Act, (h) the applicant has failed to satisfy the Bank that the applicant would, if registered, comply with each of the following: (i) any conditions that the Bank would have imposed on the registration concerned, if the Bank had granted the application; (ii) any prescribed requirements referred to in section 106M, (i) the applicant is so structured, or the business of the applicant is so organised, that the applicant is not capable of being regulated under this Chapter, or as a designated person under this Part, to the satisfaction of the Bank, (j) where the applicant fails to demonstrate, where applicable, that it can manage and mitigate the risks of engaging in activities that involve the use of anonymity-enhancing technologies or mechanisms and other technologies that obfuscate the identity of the sender, recipient, holder or beneficial owner of a virtual asset,

(k) in a case where the applicant is a body corporate, the body corporate is being wound up, (l) in a case where the applicant is a partnership, the partnership is dissolved by the death or bankruptcy of a partner or because of the operation of a provision of the Partnership Act 1890 or otherwise, (m) in a case where any person referred to in paragraph (d) has been registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in another Member State, and an authority of the other Member State, that performs functions similar to those of the Bank under this Chapter, has terminated the permission of the person to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in the other Member State, (n) in a case where the applicant is a subsidiary of a body corporate has been registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in another Member State, and an authority of the other Member State, that performs functions similar to those of the Bank under this Chapter, has terminated the permission of the body corporate to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in the other Member State, or (o) there are objective and demonstrable grounds for believing that the management body of the applicant may pose a threat to its sound and prudent management and to the adequate consideration of its clients and the integrity of the market.

Bank may impose conditions when granting an application for registration 106I. (1) In granting an application for registration under this Chapter, the Bank may impose on the holder of the registration any conditions that the Bank considers necessary for the proper and orderly regulation of the holder’s business as a virtual asset service provider and, in particular, for preventing the business from being used to carry out money laundering or terrorist financing.

Terms of registration 106J. (1) A registration comes into force on the day on which the registration is granted, or, if a later date is specified in the registration, on that later date, whether or not an appeal against any conditions of registration is made under section 106I.

Bank may amend registration 106K. (1) The Bank may amend a registration granted under this Chapter by varying, replacing or revoking any conditions or by adding a new condition if the Bank considers that the variation, replacement, revocation or addition is necessary for the proper and orderly regulation of the business of the holder of the registration as a virtual asset service provider and, in particular, for preventing the business from being used to carry out money laundering or terrorist financing.

Regulatory disclosure statement 106L. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the holder of a registration shall include a statement (in this section referred to as a ‘regulatory disclosure statement’) in the prescribed form in all advertisements for its services stating that the holder of the registration is registered and supervised by the Bank for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism purposes only.

Offence to fail to comply with conditions or prescribed requirements 106M. (1) The holder of a registration commits an offence if the holder fails to comply with— (a) any condition of the registration, or (b) any prescribed requirements.

Holder of registration to ensure that beneficial owners are fit and proper persons 106N. (1) The holder of a registration shall take reasonable steps to ascertain that any person who is a beneficial owner of the virtual asset service provider concerned is a fit and proper person.

Revocation of registration by Bank on application of holder 106O. The Bank shall revoke a registration on the application of the holder of the registration, but only if satisfied that the holder of the registration has fully complied with each of the following: (a) any conditions of the registration; (b) any prescribed requirements referred to in section 106M; (c) section 106N; (d) section 106Q; (e) section 106Y, and if satisfied that the persons in management positions have complied with their obligations to be fit and proper persons.

Revocation of registration other than on application of holder 106P. (1) The Bank may revoke a registration under this Chapter only if the Bank has reasonable grounds to be satisfied of any of the following: (a) the holder of the registration has not commenced carrying on business as a virtual asset service provider within 12 months after the date on which the registration was granted; (b) the holder of the registration has not carried on such a business within the immediately preceding 6 months; (c) the registration was obtained by means of a false or misleading representation; (d) any of the following persons is not a fit and proper person: (i) the holder of the registration; (ii) in a case where the holder of the registration is a body corporate, a partnership or an individual carrying on business as a virtual asset service provider, any principal officer of the body corporate or partnership (as the case may be); (iii) any person who is a beneficial owner of the business concerned; (e) the holder of the registration has contravened or is contravening the obligations imposed on virtual asset service providers, as designated persons, under this Part; (f) the holder of the registration has failed to satisfy the Bank that its business risk assessment, policies and procedures are adequate or fit for purpose; (g) the virtual asset service provider has contravened or is contravening any of the following: (i) a condition of the registration; (ii) a specified requirement referred to in section 106M; (iii) section 106N; (iv) section 106Q; (v) section 106Y; (h) the holder of the registration is so structured, or the business of the holder is so organised, that the holder is not capable of being regulated under this Chapter or as a designated person under this Part; (i) in a case where the holder of the registration is a body corporate, the body corporate is being wound up; (j) in a case where the holder of the registration is a partnership, the partnership is dissolved by the death or bankruptcy of a partner or because of the operation of a provision of the Partnership Act 1890 or otherwise; (k) in a case where any person referred to in paragraph (d) has been registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in another Member State, and an authority of the other Member State, that performs functions similar to those of the Bank under this Chapter, has terminated the permission of the person to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in the other Member State;

(l) in a case where the holder of the registration is a subsidiary of a body corporate that has been registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in another Member State, and an authority of the other Member State, that performs functions similar to those of the Bank under this Chapter, has terminated the permission of the body corporate to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider in the other Member State.

Direction not to carry out business other than as directed 106Q. (1) If the Bank reasonably believes that there may be grounds for revoking a registration under section 106P, the Bank may serve on the holder of the registration a direction in writing prohibiting the holder from carrying on business as a virtual asset service provider other than in accordance with conditions specified by the Bank in the direction.

Bank to publish notice of revocation 106R. As soon as is practicable after revoking a registration under section 106O or 106P, the Bank shall publish in Iris Oifigiúil a notice giving particulars of the revocation.

Register of Virtual Asset Service Providers 106S. (1) The Bank shall establish and maintain a register (to be known as ‘the Register of Virtual Asset Service Providers’ and in this Act referred to as ‘the Register’) of persons registered under this Chapter to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider containing— (a) the name and the address of the principal place of business of each person registered to carry on business as a virtual asset service provider, (b) such other information as may be prescribed.

Restriction on acquisition of beneficial interest in holders of registrations 106T. (1) A proposed acquirer shall not, directly or indirectly, acquire a beneficial interest in the holder of a registration without the prior approval of the Bank in writing of the intended size of the interest.

Powers of Bank in relation to beneficial owners 106U. (1) Where the Bank has reason to believe that a person who is a beneficial owner of the business of the holder of a registration is exercising an influence on the direction of the affairs of the holder of the registration which is, or is likely to be, prejudicial to the compliance by the holder concerned with any obligations under this Act, the Bank shall, subject to subsection (2), notify the person that it so believes, and direct the person in writing to take specified measures to bring that influence to an end within a specified period.

Obligation on holder of registration to report certain suspicions to Bank 106V. If at any time the holder of a registration suspects on reasonable grounds that any person who is a beneficial owner of the holder of the registration is not a fit and proper person, it shall notify the suspicion in writing to the Bank together with particulars setting out the basis for the suspicion.

Provision of information by Garda Síochána as to whether or not person is fit and proper person 106W. (1) The Bank may request the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána to provide any information that is required to assist the Bank in determining, for the purposes of this Chapter, whether or not any of the following persons is a fit and proper person: (a) the holder or proposed holder of a registration; (b) in a case where the holder or proposed holder of a registration is a body corporate, a partnership or an individual carrying on, or proposing to carry on, business as a virtual asset service provider as a partner in a partnership, any principal officer of the body corporate or partnership (as the case may be); (c) any person who is a beneficial owner of the business of the holder or proposed holder of the registration concerned.

Bank’s power to make regulations 106X. (1) The Bank may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Chapter as prescribed or to be prescribed.

Holders of registrations to retain certain records 106Y. (1) The holder of a registration shall— (a) retain at an office or other premises in the State such records as may be specified by the Bank, and (b) notify the Bank in writing of the address of any office or other premises where those records are retained.

Designation of Classes of Express Trust, etc. for Certain Purposes 26. The Act of 2010 is amended, in Part 4, by the insertion of the following Chapter after Chapter 9A (inserted by section 25 ): “Chapter 9B Designation of Classes of Express Trust (and Matters Related to Such Trusts) for Certain Purposes Purpose of Chapter 106Z. (1) The purpose of this Chapter is to make provision for the meaning that certain words or expressions shall have in regulations that are made, on or after the commencement of section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021, under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 , for the purpose of giving effect to Article 31 of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive.

Operation and interpretation (Chapter 9B) 106ZA. (1) Where the relevant regulations specify that, with respect to a particular word or expression, the designated meaning in the Act of 2010 shall apply then the meaning as hereafter provided in this Chapter shall apply with respect to that word or expression.

Power to prescribe certain matters 106ZB. The Minister for Finance may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Chapter as prescribed or to be prescribed.

Relevant trust - designated meaning 106ZC. (1) The following definition is designated with respect to ‘relevant trust’: ‘relevant trust’ means an express trust established by deed or other declaration in writing and any other arrangement or class of arrangements as may be prescribed but does not include an excluded arrangement.

Beneficial owner in relation to relevant trusts - designated meaning 106ZD. (1) Subject to subsections (5) to (7), the following definition is designated with respect to ‘beneficial owner’ (in relation to a relevant trust): ‘beneficial owner’, in relation to a relevant trust, means any of the following: (a) any individual who is entitled to a vested interest in possession, remainder or reversion, whether or not the interest is defeasible, in the capital of the relevant trust property; (b) in the case of a relevant trust other than one that is set up or operates entirely for the benefit of individuals referred to in paragraph (a), the class of individuals in whose interest the trust is set up or operates; (c) any individual who has control over the relevant trust; (d) the settlor; (e) the trustee; (f) the protector.

Amendment of Schedule 3 to Act of 2010 27. Paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 (inserted by section 38 of the Act of 2018) to the Act of 2010 is amended by the substitution of “Geographical risk factors - registration, establishment, residence in:” for “Geographical risk factors:”.

Amendment of Schedule 4 to Act of 2010 28. Schedule 4 (inserted by section 39 of the Act of 2018) to the Act of 2010 is amended— (a) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (g) by the substitution of “business;” for “business.”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (g): “(h) the customer is a third country national who applies for residence rights or citizenship in the State in exchange for capital transfers, purchase of property or government bonds or investment in corporate entities in the State.”, and (b) in paragraph (2)— (i) by the substitution of the following for subparagraph (c): “(c) non face-to-face business relationships or transactions, without certain safeguards, such as electronic identification means, relevant trust services as defined in the Electronic Identification Regulation or any other secure, remote or electronic, identification process regulated, recognised, approved or accepted by the relevant national authorities;”, (ii) in subparagraph (e), by the substitution of “products;” for “products.”, and (iii) by the insertion of the following after subparagraph (e): “(f) transactions related to oil, arms, precious metals, tobacco products, cultural artefacts and other items of archaeological, historical, cultural and religious importance, or of rare or scientific value, as well as ivory and protected species.”.

Amendment of section 33AK of Central Bank Act 1942 29. Section 33AK of the Central Bank Act 1942 is amended, in subsection (10), in the definition of “supervisory EU legal acts”— (a) in paragraph (ah), by the substitution of “12 December 20174 ,” for “12 December 2017;”, and (b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (ah): “(ai) Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 20155 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, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 20186 ;”.

Short title, commencement and collective citation 30. (1) This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021.

1 OJ No. L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43 1 OJ No. L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43 2 OJ No. L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73 3 OJ No. L337, 23.12.2015, p.35 4 OJ No. L 345, 27.12.2017, p.1 5 OJ No. L 141, 5.6.2015, p.73 6 OJ No. L156, 19.6.2018, p.43 Privacy Statement Accessibility European Legislation Identifier (PDF) Open Data License Ráiteas Príobháideachais Inrochtaineacht Aitheantóir Eorpach Reachtaíochta (ELI) Ceadúnas Sonraí Oscailte Liosta Fianán © Government of Ireland. Oireachtas Copyright Material is reproduced with the permission of the Houses of the Oireachtas © Rialtas na hÉireann. Atáirgtear ábhar faoi Chóipcheart le cead ó Thithe an Oireachtais