Appoint a (group) anti-money laundering officer or (group) anti-money laundering officers

If you are required to appoint a (group) AML officer, you must notify the supervisory authority of this in advance.

If you fall under the following groups of obliged entities pursuant to the Money Laundering Act, you must appoint a (group) anti-money laundering officer at management level as well as a deputy. The appointment of the (group) anti-money laundering officer and their deputy must be notified to the supervisory authority in advance.

An advertisement is possible here for the following groups of obligors:

• financial enterprises with activities pursuant to section 1 paragraph 24 of the German Money Laundering Act (GwG)
• Insurance broker
• Non-chambered legal advisors as well as registered persons pursuant to Section 10 of the Legal Services Act
• Corporate and trust service providers or trustees
• Real estate agent
• Organizers and intermediaries of gambling games (bookmakers, organizers and intermediaries of sports betting, casinos, online horse race betting, online lotteries)
• Commodity traders, art agents and art warehouse keepers

In some cases, the obligations under the Money Laundering Act (GwG) only apply when certain activities are performed or thresholds are reached – more detailed information on this can be found in the further information.

• (Group) AML officers are responsible for compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. They report directly to the management board.
• The responsibility of the management level remains.
• Among the most important duties of the AML compliance officers are, among others, that:
  • you are the contact person for law enforcement authorities, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the supervisory authority responsible for verifying compliance with due diligence obligations.
  • you are responsible for conducting and updating the risk analysis, designing internal security measures, and monitoring compliance with due diligence obligations within the company.
  • they submit suspicious activity reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) or respond to requests for information from these authorities.
• At the parent company, there is a Group Anti-Money Laundering Officer as well as, where appropriate, to appoint a deputy responsible for the creation of a group-wide uniform strategy to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for the coordination and monitoring of its implementation.
• You perform the following tasks:
  • Group anti-money laundering officers must establish binding, cross-company procedures for implementing anti-money laundering obligations in group-obligated branches, branch offices, and group-affiliated companies domestically and abroad, and ensure that these procedures are observed. To this end, they have the authority to inspect audit reports or conduct their own spot checks. The designated member of the management level of the parent company must be informed of the results regularly and on an as-needed basis.
  • If necessary, they must also implement cross-company (control) measures.
  • Group anti-money laundering officers do not replace the anti-money laundering officers that may be required at the group companies.

• As a regulated entity, you must notify the supervisory authority in advance of the appointment of a (group) AML officer and their deputy for your company.
• Your advertisement is being reviewed by the competent authority.
• If the person does not have the required qualification or reliability, the appointment as AML officer or deputy must be revoked at the request of the supervisory authority and a new person must be appointed.

The notification of (group) anti-money laundering officers and/or deputies must take place prior to their appointment. There is no deadline, meaning the notification can also be made at very short notice. The purpose of the notification is to give the authorities the opportunity to verify the qualification and reliability of the newly appointed (group) anti-money laundering officer and/or deputy and, if necessary, to object to the appointment in a timely manner.

There are no fees.

General decrees pursuant to Section 7 Paragraph 3 Sentence 2 of the Money Laundering Act (GwG)