Identification obligation
Obligation to Identify Clients and to Report Unusual
Transactions
As a consequence of the Netherlands Act on the Prevention of
Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Wet ter voorkoming
van witwassen en financiering van terrorisme,
"Wwft"), attorneys and civil-law notaries are obliged to
identify the client, and in the case of a legal entity the ultimate
stakeholder, before commencing certain services. The purpose of
this legislation (based on a European directive) is to fight
criminal money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Pursuant to this Act, attorneys and civil-law notaries are
furthermore obliged to report unusual or intended unusual
transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit Nederland
(FIU-Nederland).
The Wwft is applicable, inter alia, in the event that a
client seeks the advice or assistance of an attorney or a civil-law
notary regarding:
- the purchase or sale of real estate;
- the incorporation or management of companies, legal
entities or similar bodies, including advice on the legal
shaping;
- the purchase, sale or acquisition of undertakings.
The legal obligation entails that Kennedy Van der Laan must ask
its clients to identify themselves prior to the performance of the
above-mentioned activities. As the occasion arises, the attorneys,
civil-law notaries and junior civil-law notaries of Kennedy Van der
Laan will provide you with further information about the manner in
which this compulsory identification can be complied with.
If you have any questions concerning the Wwft, please do not
hesitate to contact Richard-Jan Roks
(r.j.roks@kvdl.nl), telephone
+31 20 5506 650, Karen Kao
(k.kao@kvdl.nl), telephone + 31
20 5506 871 or Reinoud Westerdijk
(r.j.j.westerdijk@kvdl.nl),
telephone +31 20 5506 638. 020 5506 638.
For more extensive information about the Wwft please visit the
following websites:
http://www.bureauft.nl
http://www.advocatenorde.nl/wetenregelgeving/dossier-wwft.asp
http://www.notaris.nl/page.asp?id=1218
http://www.fiu-nederland.nl
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