GREEN POLE LTD ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (AML) POLICY

The objective of the KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER (KYC) guidelines is to prevent banks from being used, intentionally or unintentionally, by criminal elements for money laundering activities. KYC procedures also enable banks to know and understand their customers and their financial dealings better, which in turn helps them manage their risks prudently.

The Basel Committee has highlighted the need for financial institutions to implement effective “Know Your Customer” (KYC) standards as an essential part of their risk management practices.

The Basel Committee has also stated that a key challenge in implementing sound KYC policies and procedures is how to establish an effective approach. Legal and reputational risks are global in nature and, as such, it is essential that each financial institution develops a global risk management programme supported by policies that incorporate KYC standards.

It is important that the adoption of a customer acceptance policy and its implementation do not become too restrictive and do not result in the denial of services to the general public, especially to those who are financially or socially disadvantaged.

The term “money laundering activities” covers not only criminals who try to launder their illegally obtained proceeds, but also banking / financial institutions and their employees who are involved in their transactions and know that the property is derived from criminal activities. “Knowledge” includes the concept of wilful blindness. Therefore, branch employees who had suspicions but deliberately did not make further enquiries / report to higher authorities, wishing to remain in ignorance, must be considered to have the necessary “knowledge” of the criminal activities / transactions.

DEFINITION OF A CUSTOMER

For the purposes of the KYC policy, a customer may be defined as:

* A person or entity that maintains an open account and / or has a business relationship with Green Pole Ltd.
* One on whose behalf the account is maintained (i.e. the beneficial owner)
* Beneficiaries of transactions conducted by professional intermediaries, such as stockbrokers, chartered accountants, solicitors, etc., as permitted by law.
* Any person or entity connected with a financial transaction that may pose a significant reputational or other risk to Green Pole Ltd., for example a wire transfer or the issue of a high-value withdrawal of funds as a single transaction.

The KYC policy includes the following eight key elements

1. Customer identification procedures
2. Transaction monitoring
3. Risk management
4. Training programme
5. Internal control system
6. Record keeping
7. Evaluation of KYC guidelines through the internal audit and inspection system
8. Duties / responsibilities and accountability

Indicative guidelines
Accounts of companies and firms

The compliance department of Green Pole Ltd. must be vigilant against business entities being used by individuals as a front for maintaining accounts with banks.

The branch / office may examine the control structure of the entity, determine the source of funds and identify the natural persons who have a controlling interest and who make up the management. These requirements may be moderated according to the perceived risk, e.g. in the case of a public company, it will not be necessary to identify all the shareholders.

Customer Identification Procedure (CIP)

The CIP may only be carried out at the following stages:

1. While establishing the relationship
2. When carrying out a financial transaction
3. When the branch / office has doubts about the authenticity / veracity or adequacy of previously obtained customer identification data.
Customer identification means identifying the customer and verifying their identity using reliable, independent source documents, data or information.

Green Pole Ltd. needs to obtain sufficient information necessary to establish, to its satisfaction, the identity of each new customer, whether regular or occasional, and the purpose and intended nature of the banking relationship.

Being satisfied means that Green Pole Ltd. must be able to satisfy the competent authorities that due diligence has been observed based on the customer’s risk profile, in accordance with the existing guidelines in force.

Risk assessment

An effective KYC programme must be put in place by establishing the appropriate procedure and ensuring its effective implementation. It must cover proper management oversight and control systems, segregation of duties, training and other related matters. Responsibility must be explicitly allocated within the company to ensure that its policies and procedures are implemented effectively.

The nature and extent of due diligence will depend on the risk perceived by Green Pole Ltd. The customer profile will be a confidential document and the details it contains will not be disclosed for cross-selling or any other purpose.

Internal audit and compliance functions of Green Pole Ltd. have an important role in evaluating and ensuring adherence to KYC policies and procedures. The compliance function must provide an independent evaluation of Green Pole Ltd.’s own policies and procedures, including legal and regulatory requirements. It must be ensured that the audit team is adequately staffed with individuals who are well versed in such policies and procedures.

Internal inspectors must specifically check and verify the application of KYC procedures at branches / offices and comment on any lapses observed in this regard.

Identification of sanctioned parties and specially designated nationals

All customers will be screened against several independent risk intelligence databases, such as “World Compliance” and “World Check” (professional compliance databases).

Customer identification

Natural persons

For customers who are natural persons, Green Pole Ltd. must obtain sufficient identification data (passport, national ID card, government-issued identification, etc.) to verify the customer’s identity, their address / location (utility bill, bank statements, etc.) and also a recent photograph (if possible).

Legal persons

For customers who are legal entities or legal persons, Green Pole Ltd. must verify the legal status of the entity / legal person through appropriate and relevant documents, verify that any person purporting to act on behalf of the entity or legal person is so authorised, and identify and verify the identity of that person. The ownership and control structure of the customer must be understood, and it must be determined who the natural persons are who ultimately control the legal person.

If Green Pole Ltd. decides to accept such accounts in terms of the CAP policy, Green Pole Ltd. must take reasonable measures to identify the beneficial owners.

For new accounts:

The “Know Your Customer (KYC)” procedure must be the key principle for identifying an individual / corporate account. Customer identification must involve verification through an introductory reference from an existing account holder / a person known to the bank, or on the basis of documents provided by the customer.

Record keeping

All service records and identification documentation must be retained for a minimum period of no less than 7 years.

Training

All new employees will receive anti-money laundering training as part of the mandatory new employee training programme. All relevant employees are also required to complete AML training annually. Participation in additional training programmes is required of all employees with day-to-day AML responsibilities.

Administration

For the purposes of the AML Policy, Green Pole Ltd. will appoint an AML Compliance Officer. The AML Compliance Officer of Green Pole Ltd. will be responsible for the administration, review, interpretation and application of this policy. The policy will be reviewed annually and revised as necessary.

The duties of the AML Compliance Officer with respect to the policy will include, among others, its design and implementation, as well as updating the policy as necessary; training of officers and employees; monitoring the compliance of Green Pole Ltd.’s affiliates; maintaining the necessary and appropriate records; and independent testing of the policy’s operation.