The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a circular to entities it supervises drawing their attention to article 5A of the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007, which makes it a criminal offence for sellers of high-value goods such as jewellery, motor vehicles or works of art to accept payment of €10,000 or more in cash in respect of one transaction or a series of linked transactions, punishable by a fine of up to 10 per cent of the sum received in cash.
CySEC has also drawn regulated entities’ attention to the Joint Guidelines under Articles 17 and 18(4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 on simplified and enhanced customer due diligence and the factors credit and financial institutions should consider when assessing the money laundering and terrorist financing risk associated with individual business relationships and occasional transactions ('The Risk Factors Guidelines'), issued by the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities. Regulated entities should apply these Guidelines and be should be able to demonstrate that their policies, controls and procedures are appropriate in view of the risks that have been identified.
CySEC has also adopted the joint Guidelines on the assessment of the suitability of the members of the management body and key function holders issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority. CySEC will issue a consultation paper in relation to the process it intends to adopt to assess the suitability of key function holders.
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