FIA
Financial Intelligence Act
The Act builds on the Prevention of Organised Crime Act of 2004, which is the main law criminalising money laundering in Namibia.
The FIA puts in place preventive measures to combat money laundering and will be administered through the newly established Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) at the BoN.
The Act has implications for a wide range of businesses, especially for the financial services industry.
It makes it mandatory for “financial institutions, non-banking financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses...to report Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the Financial Intelligence Centre,” according to an official statement.
The centre will then pass on these reports to law enforcement agencies where necessary.
It also forces these so-called “accountable institutions” to keep profiles of their customers (called “know your customer policy”) and adjust their customer acceptance and customer due diligence procedures.
Money laundering is the act of engaging in legal transactions with money gotten through criminal activities.
Clients are required to supply the following documents when opening accounts:
- Identification Document;
- Proof of residential address; and
- Proof of bank details.