Client identification and inspection

According to Act No. 253/2008 Coll. on selected measures against the legitimisation of proceeds of crime and financing of terrorism.

Dear clients,

We hereby would like to inform you of certain legal obligations of UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, a.s. (hereinafter the “Bank”) which you as clients will encounter in establishing and in the course of a contractual relationship.

The Bank’s main obligations in this area are defined by:

• Act No. 253/2008 Coll. on selected measures against the legitimisation of proceeds of crime and financing of terrorism (hereinafter the “Act”)
• CNB Decree No. 281/2008 Coll. (hereinafter the “Decree”)
• Act No. 21/1992 Coll. on Banks

Identification is an operation that must always precede a business relationship, the subject of which is the provision of a product or service to a client. In performing identification, the Bank is obliged to ascertain, verify and record the identification information of all individuals and legal entities participating in the business relationship.

When does the identification take place?

The identification always takes place, as mentioned above, prior to establishing the business relationship, always prior to executing any banking transaction (individual transactions) with a value exceeding EUR 1,000 or the CZK equivalent (e.g., cash withdrawal/deposit, purchase/sale of cheques, and the like), and in certain other situations stipulated by the Act.

What information does the Bank obtain from identification?

For an individual – non-entrepreneur:

• All first and last names
• Birth number, or, if none assigned, date of birth
• Place of birth
• Gender
• Permanent or another residential address
• Citizenship

For an individual – entrepreneur:

• In addition to the aforementioned, business name with its differentiating addendum or other designation, place of business and identification number.

For a legal entity:

• Business name or designation including its differentiating addendum or other designation
• Registered office
• Identification number or similar number assigned abroad
• For persons who comprise its statutory body or are a member thereof, the information for the individual – non-entrepreneur (see above); if the statutory body or member thereof is a legal entity, then the information under this paragraph

How does identification take place?  

The Bank’s documents used for the identification of individuals include the Client Identification Card as well as the document Information Regarding Personal Data Processing, which you can read here. 

For identification, an individual submits his or her identification card, whereas a legal entity submits documentation proving the entity’s legal existence. The Bank is entitled to make copies of documents submitted as part of the identification process. The Bank shall make a copy of an identification card only with the consent of its holder. Should the holder not give his or her consent, the Bank will copy the data into the Identification Card.

Identification of an individual always takes place in his or her physical presence. The Act allows for the following variants of alternate identification:

• Remote mediated method, for identification performed for the Bank by a notary, or
• Accepting identification from another legal entity upon fulfilment of the rules stipulated by the Act

The Bank’s employees will be pleased to provide you with details on the execution of identification by an alternate method upon request.

The Bank may not enter into a contractual relationship with a client who has refused to submit to identification, nor may the Bank execute a transaction (provide any product or service) for such a client.

Client inspection is a procedure charged to the Bank by the Act and the CNB Decree. The Bank must ascertain data necessary for assessing the possible risk of the legitimisation of proceeds of crime (so-called money laundering) and financing of terrorism.

What is the aim of client inspection?

• To obtain information on the purpose and intended nature of the transaction and business relationship
• To identify the client’s beneficial owner, if the client is a legal entity
• To obtain the information necessary for conducting continuous monitoring of the business relationship, including reviewing transactions executed during the given relationship for the purpose of ascertaining whether the executed transactions are in accordance with what the Bank knows about the client and its business and risk profile
• To examine the client’s sources of funds

How and when does client inspection take place?

Client inspection proceeds depending on the type of client and type of business relationship, product and provided transaction.

The client is requested by the Bank on an individual basis to provide specific materials for the purpose of carrying out client inspection. The client can be requested, for example, to report the origin of the funds with which it transacts, or, for a cash transaction, the client can be requested to submit written documentation establishing the origin of the relevant funds.

The client is obliged to provide the Bank information that is necessary for carrying out the client inspection, including submitting the appropriate documents. The Bank is entitled to make copies of such documents for the purposes of the client inspection.

The Bank may not enter into a contractual relationship with a client who has not provided it sufficient co-operation for carrying out the client inspection, nor may the Bank execute a transaction (provide a product or service) for such a client. The Bank proceeds in the same way even if it is not possible to contact the client for the purposes of carrying out the inspection.

A politically exposed person shall mean an individual in a prominent public position with nation-wide competence, and that for the entire period of holding the position and for an additional one year after the termination of holding such position, and having residence outside the Czech Republic or holding such important public position outside the Czech Republic.

Example:

• a head of state or head of government, a minister, deputy or assistant minister;
• a member of parliament;
• a member of the supreme court, constitutional court or other high-level judicial body, decisions of which are not subject to further appeal, except in exceptional circumstances;
• a member of the court of auditors or member of the supreme body of the central bank;
• a high-ranking military officer;
• a member of an administrative, management or supervisory board of a state-owned enterprise; or
• an ambassador or chargé d'affaires, or an individual who holds a similar position in the bodies of the EU or other international organisations.

A politically exposed person is also an individual who is:

• the spouse, partner or similarly related person or a parent of a person under the previous paragraph;
• a son or daughter of a person under the previous paragraph or a spouse, partner or similarly related person of the son or daughter of a person under the previous paragraph (son- or daughter-in-law);
• a business partner or beneficial owner of the same legal entity, trust or other similar legal organisation under foreign law as a person under the previous paragraph or who is known to the Bank to be in any other close business relationship with a person under the previous paragraph; or
• a beneficial owner of a legal entity, trust or other similar legal organisation under foreign law known to have been created on behalf of a person under the previous paragraph.

How does the Bank deal with politically exposed persons?

The Bank determines and verifies whether the client is a politically exposed person or a person related to such person.

The Bank is always obliged to perform a client inspection of politically exposed persons.

The Bank may not execute a transaction (provide a service or product) to a politically exposed person if it does not know the source of the politically exposed person’s assets to be used in the transaction.