Commercial Banks Not to Change Approach to Politically Active People

Georgian commercial banks will not change their approach to politically active people. Decree #4 of the Head of Georgian Financial Monitoring Service, issued on January 18, 2012 on “Reception, Systematization, Processing of Information by Commercial Banks and Sharing the Received Information with the Georgian Financial Monitoring Service” has already been published on the website of the Sakanonmdeblo Matsne  [legislative herald] and relatively it has gone into force.

According to the document, commercial banks will continue their policy towards politically active people which they launched last year. In 2011, the detalization of bank’s cooperation with similar people started based on the decree issued on May 27, 2010.

According to the new provision, in 2012 commercial banks will be required to find out whether their client or beneficiary is politically active person or not.

“If a client or/and his/her beneficiary owner is a politically active person, except the obligation imposed by the Law of Georgia on the Prevention of Legalization of Illegal Revenues and by this provision, the Bank shall take additional measures: to obtain permission from the bank’s administration to cooperate with the particular person; to take reasonable measures to estimate the source of his/her financial resources and property; to carry out reinforced monitoring of his/her cooperation with similar person,” Article 7 of the Decree states.

According to the decree, commercial bank shall have worked out corresponding procedures to detect politically active people which assist the bank personnel to check relevant information from the client and from public agencies or relevant online data bases.

Interpresnews