WILLEMSTAD--Real estate brokers and notaries in Curaçao are obliged to conduct customer due diligence and report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), formerly known as MOT. When failing to do so deliberately they are guilty of a crime.
Curaçao’s FIU carried out an investigation at various local brokers and notaries during which time several infractions were noted and complaints filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The latter offered the suspects a so-called “transaction interview” in these cases; which led to fines of between NAf. 12,000 and NAf. 15,000. These enforcement actions are a result of the “not reporting project” that started in March 2017.
According to the prosecution, the complaints showed that the perpetrators who were investigated did not sufficiently monitor where the money of their customers came from; they did not do a “source of funds” investigation. If such an inquiry gives any indication that money laundering could be involved, this must be reported to the FIU.
The client surveys examined by the FIU appeared to have been incorrectly executed on several levels. An example of this is that there was not always a copy of an identification certificate in the administration.
The now closely watched service providers have promised improvement by, among other things, closely following the recommendations of the FIU.
The intentional violation of these compliance regulations has been qualified by the legislator as a crime, where a prison sentence of up to four years can be imposed. In enforcing these regulations, the Prosecutor’s Office and FIU act jointly.
