IRELAND: Central Bank of Ireland Issue a Press Release on a Settlement Reached with UBS International Life Limited in Relation to Breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering Legislation (“Criminal Justice Act 2010”)

Thursday June 21 2012

Funds-Axis would like to draw your attention to a press release issued by the Irish Central Bank in relation to settlement they have reached with UBS International Life Limited in relation to breaches by UBS of the Criminal Justice Act 2010 (Anti-Money Laundering) Legislation.

The Central Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing (“AML/CTF”) Supervisory Unit identified these breaches during an inspection of the firm conducted in December 2010.  Following this inspection, an examination into these issues was conducted by the Central Bank’s Enforcement Directorate.

The breaches identified were:                             

• Staff Training – UBS International Life Limited failed to demonstrate that it had instructed any of its staff on the law in relation to money laundering and terrorist financing from 15 July 2010 (when the CJA 2010 came into force) until December 2010.  Furthermore, with one exception, the firm failed to provide this instruction to the directors of the firm until 26 April 2011. These failures amounted to breaches of Section 54 (6) (a) of the CJA 2010.

• Placing Reliance on 3^rd Parties – UBS International Life Limited failed to demonstrate that it had met the requirements for placing reliance on third parties, in accordance with Section 40 (3) of the CJA 2010, thereby failing to comply with its obligations in relation to the identification and verification of customers.  These breaches occurred from 15 July 2010 to 30 May 2011.

• Policies & Procedures in Relation to SARS – UBS International Life Limited failed to adopt adequate written policies and procedures in relation to the identification and reporting of suspicious transactions.  These breaches amounted to a breach of Section 54 (2) of the CJA 2010.  

The Central Bank fined UBS €65,000 for these breaches. Full details of the press release can be found at the following link:

UBS International Life Limited Fined for Breaches of AML Legislation

Should you wish to contact the author of this article in relation to the above or any other matter, please don’t hesitate to email info@funds-axis.com