From the 1 July 2018 we will be required to obtain more information from you. This is part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT).
The purpose of this Act is to prevent money laundering or the financing of any terrorism. By requiring more information from you, we have more knowledge about the transactions we are undertaking on your behalf, and are able to ensure that we are not in breach of our requirements under the Act. If we have any suspicions we have an obligation to report this.
When we meet with you to discuss new legal matters we may require what is called “customer due diligence” (CDD) from you. This is similar to what we already do if you are buying a house, but we may require more documentation from you.
| Client | Information Required |
|---|---|
| Person | Proof of your identity and date of birth – such as a drivers licence, birth certificate or passport.
Proof of your address – such as a recent utilities bill or bank statement. |
| Company or Trust | Same as above but we will also require further information about other people involved in the company or Trust like the details of people who are Directors, Shareholders, Trustees or Beneficiaries.
We may also ask questions about the source of the money, and the reason for the proposed work you are asking us to do. |
We will be required to have the above information before we can carry any work out for you, and if you cannot provide this for us then we will be unable to act for you.
We will not be required to hold onto the originals of these documents, we will just take a photocopy and keep it in our records for the future.
If you have any questions about these changes, feel free to contact one of the team at Cruickshank Pryde.