Updated May 2022
1.1. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions shall bear the following meanings and cognate expressions shall have corresponding meanings:
1.1.1. "Applicable law" means the Laws, articles, regulations, directives, procedures and customs in force from time to time in Labuan;
1.1.2. "Back Office" means a Client’s “working place” on the official website of the Company which is able to access on completion of the registration process;
1.1.3. "Business day" means a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks generally, are open for business;
1.1.4. "CFD" means a contract for differences;
1.1.5. "Client" means a Person that has been registered as a customer of the Company through the Back Office and who becomes a party to this Agreement;
1.1.6. "Company’s official website" means the website located at: https://www.exfor.com;
1.1.7. "Financial Instrument" means a currency pair, precious metal traded on the spot market or any other contract;
1.1.8. "Margin" means the initial margin or variation margin required to be posted by the Client as security required to be able to do leveraged trades;
1.1.9. Margin Call means a demand for such cash amounts or other assets by way of Margin as the Company may require for the purpose of protecting itself against loss or risk of loss on present, future or contemplated Transactions under this Agreement;
1.1.10. "Party/ies" means the Company and/ the Client, as the context requires;
1.1.11. "Products" means Contract for Differences in forex;
1.1.12. "Services" means the Services to be provided by the Company to the Client in terms of clause 6.
2.1. Exfor Limited (hereinafter ‘The Company’, ‘we’ or ‘us’) is authorized and regulated by the Labuan LFSA with license number MB/22/0099 as an Authorized Money Services Business.
2.2. We will deal with you only as a mediator and are strictly prohibited to act as principal.
2.3. You will enter into transactions with us acting as a mediator, bringing together the counterparties on mutually acceptable terms.
3.1. This Agreement is effective as from the time the Conditions Precedent have been fulfilled until is terminated as provided for under this Agreement. A Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party in the manner provided for in this Agreement provided that such termination will not:
3.1.1. affect the rights or the obligations of the Parties in terms of this Agreement for whatever reason or are in existence at the date of such notice or at the date of the termination of this Agreement; or
3.1.2. entitle the Client to claim or withdraw from the account referred to any money held to secure the obligations of the Client until such obligations have been fulfilled.
4.1. This Agreement will be of no force and effect until the Client has been registered on the Platform and if the applicable has paid any amount required in terms of this Agreement.
5.1. The Client/ "you" appoints the Company "Us" and the Company accepts the appointment to trade in the Products without discretion and only in response to an order from the Client or, if required to do so, in terms of the provisions of this Agreement.
5.2. In utilising the Services the Client will nominate, appoint and mandate certain individuals ("users") to act on its behalf. In order for the Users to access the Services the Users will be given a code unique to each User ("Access Code"). As such, any action or omissions by the User in respect of the Services shall be deemed to be authorised by the Client and shall be binding on the Client.
5.3. The Client undertakes not to disclose any confidential information so received from the Company and shall assume all risk for loss the Client may sustain in connection with access to such information by third parties including access to the Access Code.
5.4. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and acceptance of your application to open an account with us, we will maintain one or more accounts in your name and we will provide execution only Services in respect of the Products.
5.5. Schedule A sets out our risk notice in compliance with Applicable Law. If there is anything you do not understand it is recommended that you seek specialist independent financial and or legal advice, in particular, regarding the suitability of complex financial instruments trading.
5.6. We deal with you on an execution only basis and will not make personal recommendations or advice on the merits or suitability of purchasing, selling or otherwise dealing in particular Investments, their legal, tax or accounting or the composition of any account or any other rights or obligations attaching to any such investments.
5.7. The Company will not render any advisory services in respect of your dealings on the Platform. Where we do provide general trading information, market commentary or other information:
5.7.1. this is incidental to your dealing relationship with us;
5.7.2. it is provided solely to enable you to make your own investment decisions and does not amount to a personal recommendation or to advice;
5.7.3 we give no representation, warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of such information or as to the legal, tax, or accountancy consequences of any such transactions.
6.1 The services offered by the Company shall be any software products or services enabling the Client:
6.1.2. to open a trading account and perform trading operations;
6.1.1. to monitor the current condition of financial markets;
6.1.3. to deposit and withdraw money to/from the Client’s account and to do transfers between Client’s accounts;
6.1.5. to contact the Company for information related to the Client’s trading account and Company services.
6.1.4. to trade in such financial instruments that are mentioned in the contract specifications for the selected type of account;
6.2 The list of financial instruments traded, and trading terms and conditions can be found on the Company’s official website.
6.3 No actual currency supply is made within the framework of trading operations. Once the position is closed, the earnings shall be credited to, or loss debited from, the trading balance of the Client’s account.
6.4. The Company shall execute the Client’s trading orders only. The Company and its employees shall not offer client asset management services nor do they provide recommendations and advice regarding trading orders.
6.5. The Company may at its own discretion give such recommendations and advice, however, should the Client decide to use such recommendations and advice for trading purposes, any financial loss he may sustain in connection with such a decision shall be Client’s responsibility.
6.6. The Company reserves the right to change, reduce, add or amend the services of the Company by giving a prior notice to the Client.
7.1. To be able to access the Platform, the Client has to follow the on-line access procedures provided in Schedule B.
8.1. Your orders will be handled in accordance with our Order Execution Policy.
8.2.1. The following types of charges shall be applicable in respect of Transactions executed on your Account:
8.2.1.1 spread(s); and
8.2.1.2 swap(s)
9.1. The Company shall not be responsible for complete or partial financial loss sustained by the Client, if such loss has resulted due to any force majeure event.
9.2. The Parties shall not be in breach of this Agreement to the extent that the performance of their respective obligations under the Agreement has been prevented by an event of force majeure arising after the conclusion of this Agreement. Force majeure events shall include: acts of God, fires, technological accident, disasters, epidemics effecting market conditions, accidents occurred at engineering and communication buildings, mass unrest, military actions, strikes, lockouts, riots, terrorist attacks, ddos-attacks, regulatory sanctions preventing due performance of the Agreement. For the purpose of this Agreement, force majeure events shall also include: market suspension, closure or liquidation; or Company’s inability to quote due to lack of event on the basis of which Company’s quotations are made; or trade restrictions or unusual trading conditions in any marker or in relation to any of these.
9.3. The events referred to in clause 9.2 above are not exhaustive. The Parties shall not be in breach of the Agreement should other force majeure events occur.
9.4. Where a force majeure event takes place, the time for the performance of the obligations under this Agreement shall be postponed for a period equal to that during which the force majeure event continues to be in force, and no loss shall be recovered.
9.5. Where a force majeure event occurs, the Company reserves the right, without prior notice, to:
9.5.1. change trading and non-trading conditions and requirements;
9.5.2. close any or all Client’s open positions at such price that the Company shall consider fair under current market conditions;
9.5.3. suspend performance under, or modify one or more clauses of, this Agreement for as long as the force majeure events continue to be in force;
9.5.4. take (or not to take) other actions in relation to the Client if considered necessary by the Company.
9.6. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Company shall not be liable or responsible for any illegal actions taken against the Company, its employees and/or its property, including hacker attacks and other unlawful actions.
9.7. A Party whose ability to perform or duly perform under this Agreement has been affected by force majeure events must, within 7 calendar days following the occurrence of such events, inform the other Party to this effect, failing which the affected Party shall not be entitled to refer to such events as discharging from liability.
9.8. Where the Company’s performance under this Agreement has been affected by force majeure events, the duration of which exceeds 30 calendar days, the Company shall be entitled to terminate performance of its obligations and display a relevant notice on its official website.
9.9. The Client accepts that force majeure events may cause a delay in the execution of a deposit and/or withdrawal transaction in his account. Where a force majeure event occurs, the Company undertakes to credit the Client’s account as soon as it becomes possible.
10.1. The Company’s opening hours are 24 hours a day from 00:00 hrs. Monday to 23:59 hrs. Friday server time. The opening hours means a period during which Clients’ trading operations are processed by the Company. Certain departments in the Company may have different opening hours. More information on opening hours can be found on the Company’s official website.
10.2. International holidays that may affect the operation of financial markets and the trade in certain financial instruments make an exception.
10.3. To contact the Client the Company may use any of the following methods:
10.3.1. trading platform internal email;
10.3.2. email;
10.3.3. telephone;
10.3.4. post;
10.3.5. website of the Company.
10.4. Any communication shall be considered received by the Client:
10.4.1. in one hour after being sent to the Client’s email address;
10.4.2. immediately, if sent via trading platform internal mail;
10.4.3. immediately after the telephone conversation;
10.4.4. if a 7 days period have elapsed after being sent by post;
10.4.5. immediately after being displayed on the Company’s official website.
10.5. To communicate with the Client the Company shall use only those contact details that the Client submitted on registration or amended thereafter, as the case may be.
10.6. The correspondence and information sent by the Company to the Client shall be considered duly delivered if sent to the Client’s contact details last known to the Company, in which case the Client may not refer to their invalidity unless the contact details have been duly amended. The Client accepts that the Company may delete messages not received by the Client via trading platform internal email after 7 calendar days from the moment of their dispatch.
10.7. The Client accepts that the Company may record all verbal and telephone conversations with the client. Such records shall belong to the Company and may be used to prove that the communication between the Parties has indeed taken place.
11.1. The Client hereby indemnifies the Company against any and all claims, loss, demands, liability, costs and expenses of whatsoever nature and howsoever caused and arising, which may at any time be made against the Company by any person or which the Company may sustain or incur arising directly or indirectly out of or in consequence of any Instructions or the Services, other than such claims,
11.2. loss, demands, liability, costs and expenses arising as a direct result of the Company's gross negligence, wilful misrepresentation.
12.1. All claims arising under this Agreement relating to the trading operations withdrawals or claims or complaints by the clients shall be dealt with in terms of the Company's complaints resolution procedure ("Complaints Procedure") which is available on the Company's website.
12.2. The Parties will endeavour to resolve any dispute arising from this Agreement amicably. The Company will investigate the cause of the dispute with a view to resolve it as soon as it is practically possible given the nature of the dispute and the availability of information, capacity and documents and in any event in terms of the Complaints Procedure.
12.3. Failing amicable resolution, the dispute will be referred to and resolved by arbitration. The arbitration will be conducted in terms of the commercial rules present in Labuan. The arbitration will be conducted in English. The Parties to the dispute will agree on an arbitrator which will be a practicing or non practicing lawyer with at least 15 years experience in legal work relating to the financial markets, securities landing, derivative instruments and derivative contracts.
13.1. No addition or variation, consensual cancellation or novation of this Agreement and no waiver of any right arising from this Agreement or its breach or termination will be of any force or effect unless reduced to writing and signed by both Parties and their duly authorised representatives or accepted electronically on the Platform.
13.2. The Company may make unilateral changes to this Agreement by giving the Client five days written notice.
13.3. The Client may update his or her contact details by completing the required fields on the Platforms.
14.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, in providing Services to you we shall be entitled to take any action as we consider necessary in our absolute discretion to ensure compliance with the relevant market rules and or practices and all Applicable Laws and Regulations.
14.2. We are authorized to disclose information relating to you and/or your Transactions to LFSA and other regulatory bodies as required by law and/or where we believe it is desirable.
14.3. Under Applicable Regulations, we will keep Client Records for at least five years after termination of the Agreement.
14.4. You agree to provide us with such information as we reasonably request from time to time to enable us to comply with Applicable Regulations and provide the Services. Where you provide us with information, you are responsible for ensuring that it is correct and should promptly inform us in writing of any change.
14.5. If a settlement is not reached by the means described in the complaints paragraph herein, all disputes and controversies arising out of or in connection with the Agreement shall be finally settled in court in Labuan. This Agreement and all and us are governed by the Laws of Labuan.
14.6. All transactions on behalf of you shall be subject to the Applicable Laws and Regulations. We shall be entitled to take or omit to take any measures which we consider desirable in view of compliance with the Applicable Laws and Regulations in force at the time. Any such measures shall be binding on you.
14.7. All rights and remedies provided to the Company under the Agreement are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by law.
15.1. The Company shall have the right to terminate the Agreement in any of the following circumstances:
15.1.1. if the Client is in breach of any of the terms and conditions of the Agreement and/or attachments thereto;
15.1.2. where termination of the Agreement is required by a court order;
15.1.3. where Client’s accounts have not been used for designated purposes (e.g., for the purpose of currency conversion);
15.1.4. where the Client is believed to be carrying criminal or suspicious operations (e.g. money laundering).
15.2. The Company may terminate the Agreement on two business days’ notice sent to the Client by email.
15.3. If on termination any Client’s account has a positive balance, the available balance will be remitted to the Client within 10 working days as long as all open positions have been closed at a current market price and no new positions are opened; on termination of the Agreement access to the Client’s Back Office shall be blocked.
15.4. The Client may terminate this Agreement by withdrawing all funds from all his accounts and notifying the Company about his intention to close the accounts by e-mail.
15.5. In the event of Client’s death, the right to withdraw funds from the Client’s account shall be transferred to his successors on the basis of the Client’s will or any other document confirming the succession rights. The right to use the Client’s account and to perform trading operations shall not be passed on Client’s successor.
16.1. The Company will be categorizing its Clients in one of the following categories: Retail Client and/or Professional Client. The categorization shall depend on the information provided by the Client in his Application Form and according to the method of categorization as this method is explained under the document “Client Categorization Policy” found on our website. By accepting the Agreement, the Client accepts application of such a method. The Company will inform the Client of his categorization according to Applicable Regulations. The Client has the right to request different categorization.
16.1.1. The Client accepts that when categorizing the Client and dealing with him, the Company will rely on the accuracy, completeness and correctness of the information provided by the Client in his Application Form and the Client has the responsibility to immediately notify the Company in writing if such information changes at any time thereafter.
16.1.2. The Company shall have the right to review the Client’s Categorization, according to Applicable Regulations and inform the Client accordingly of the change before it comes into effect by providing the Client with advance notice. The Client shall be treated as accepting the change on that date unless, before then, the Client informs the Company that the Client wishes to terminate the Agreement and not accept the change. Retail Client will be any Client who does not meet the requirements of a Professional client.
16.1.3. Professional Client will be deemed as such, should the Client meet at least 2 of the below requirements:
Having available for trade assets from legitimate sources in an amount exceeding 10,000.00 USD;
Having previous proven experience in financial services/ trading for at least 3 years;
Having higher (Master’s degree or similar) education in the financial sector;
Having previously confirmed broker statements of executed trades in an amount of not less than 10,000.00 USD per relationship with another financial entity.
17.1. Exfor Limited is a financial services company incorporated and registered according to the laws of Labuan under Certificate of Registration No. LL17698, having its registered office at Unit B, Lot 49, 1st Floor, Block F, Lazenda Warehouse 3, Jalan Ranca-Ranca, 87000 F. T. Labuan, Malaysia, (herein called “We” or “Us” or “The Company”). The Company has been granted a license to carry on a Labuan Money Broking Business from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (hereinafter called “LFSA”) (with License No. (MB/22/0099)). Under its license it must:
bring together the counterparties on mutually acceptable terms for the same financial products in money or foreign exchange market to facilitate the conclusion of a transaction;
receive payment for its service in the form of brokerage or commission fees. The fees charged must be adequate and appropriate; and
act as a mediator and strictly not permitted to act as a principal.
17.2. This Client Agreement and any Appendices added thereto, the “Costs and Fees” and “Contract Specifications”, as amended from time to time, (hereinafter together the “Agreement”) set out the terms upon which the Company will offer Services to the Client and the rights and obligations of each Party. By applying for our services, you are consenting to the terms and conditions of all the above-mentioned documents which form the entire Agreement and it means that in the event that you are accepted by us as our Client, you and us shall be bound by these terms and conditions.
17.3. In addition to the above documents, we would also like to bring to your attention the following documents found on our Main Website, namely “Summary Conflicts of Interest Policy”, “Summary Best Interest and Order Execution Policy”, “Risk Disclosure and Warnings Notice”, “Client Categorization Policy”, “Investor Compensation Fund”, “Complaints Procedure for Clients” and “Privacy and Cookies Policy”. These include important information which we are required as an authorized Labuan Firm to provide to our prospective Clients and existing under Applicable Laws and Regulations.
17.4. All these documents are important and for this reason, you are advised to read all the above mentioned documents which form the entire Agreement, all the documents on our Website (enlisted above for your convenience) and any other letters or notices sent by us carefully and make sure that you understand and agree with them before entering into an agreement with us.
17.5. If you are a consumer (and not a corporate Client) and we do not meet face to face to conclude this Agreement, but instead our communication is done through a website, over the telephone, or by written correspondence (including e-mail), then we shall send you by email the documents that form the Agreement.
17.6. Physical signature of the Agreement is not required but if you wish to have it signed you may print it and sign two copies of the Agreement and sent them back to us. We shall keep one copy for our records and send you back the other one signed by us as well.
17.7. The company may also provide other ordinary business services to institutional clients. Such services will only be provided on mutually acceptable terms and will be agreed on with case specific agreements.
17.8. In some cases, the Company is obliged to obtain information about the Client’s knowledge and experience in the investment field so that it can assess whether the Service or product envisaged is appropriate for him. If the Client elects not to provide such information to the Client, or if the Client provides insufficient information, the Company will not be able to determine whether the service or product envisaged is appropriate for the Client. The Company shall assume that information about knowledge and experience provided from the Client to the Company is accurate and the Company will have no responsibility to the Client if such information is incomplete or misleading or changes or becomes inaccurate unless the Client has informed the Company of such changes.
17.9. We will not advise you about the merits of a particular Transaction or give you any form of investment advice you acknowledge that the Services do not include the provision of investment advice. You alone will make decisions based on your own judgment.
17.10. We will not be under any duty to provide you with any legal, tax or other advice relating to any of our services. You may wish to seek independent advice before entering into any service with us, which advice will be for your own cost.
17.11. The provision of the Services by the Company is subject to payment of fees such as Commissions and/or brokerage fees only.
17.12. We may vary our Costs and Fees, from time to time. We will notify you of any changes, before they come into effect, by internal mail via our Online System, or by email or by placing a notice on our Website. The variation will take effect from the date which we specify in our notification to you. We will endeavor to provide you with at least Fifteen Business Days notice of such alteration save where such alteration is based on a change in interest rates or tax treatment or it is otherwise impractical for us to do so.
17.13. You solemnly declare that you have carefully read and fully understood the entire text of this Client Agreement, the Fees and Costs and the Contract Specifications (which form the Agreement between us) with which you fully agree. You solemnly declare that you have read and understood the various important company policies and procedures found on our Website and specifically:
(a) — “Summary Conflicts of Interest Policy”
(b) — “Risk Disclosure and Warnings Notice”
(c) — “Complaints Procedure for Clients”
(d) — “Privacy and Cookies Policy”.
17.14. You specifically consent to the provision of this Client Agreement and our various policies and any amendments thereto by means of our Website and you confirm that you have regular access to the internet in order to refer to these at any time. It is understood that if you wish, you may request the same to be sent by post, email or facsimile.
Updated May 2022
The purpose of this document is to inform the Client of the potential risks involved in trading on financial markets. Each Client should ensure that their decision is made on an informed basis. This document forms an integral part of the Agreement between Exfor Limited. Company Nr. LL17698 (the Company) and the Client. This document lists the most common and frequent risks associated with trading on financial markets, however it cannot disclose all risks involved in trading due to the wide range of feasible situations.
Every Client should deal with the Company at their own risks and shall not be protected by any statutory compensation arrangements in any event whatsoever.
Every person intending to trade on the products offered by the Company is recommended to seek independent advice on the investment viability and risk associated with such products and services proposed by the Company.
No information represented in the document of the Company or its website shall be considered as advice.
Online trading on financial markets is associated with high risks. Every Client must understand that the investment value can both increase and decrease. Clients will be held liable for losses and damages, which could result in the loss of all of the Clients’ invested capital, once they make the decision to trade.
In making a decision to trade in the Company's products, Clients must rely on their own examination of the products, including the merits and risks involved, as well as own experience, knowledge and financial capabilities. The Client should not risk more than what he is prepared to lose.
The Company does not provide advice of any kind, including tax, investment or legal advice other than general consultations to Clients. Unless the Client knows and fully understands the risks involved in Financial Instruments, they should not engage in any trading activity.
If a Client is unclear or does not understand the risks involved in online trading on financial markets, they should consult an independent financial advisor.
Financial instruments that are traded on leverage carry a high level of risk. When executing trading operations under margin trading conditions, even small market movements may have a great impact on a Client’s Trading Account due to the effect of leverage. The Client must take into consideration that if the trend on the market is against them, the Client may sustain a total loss of their Initial Margin and any additional funds deposited to maintain Open Positions. The Client shall be held fully responsible for all risks, financial resources used and the chosen trading strategy.
Many instruments are traded within wide ranges of intraday price movements. Consequently, Clients must carefully consider the fact that there is not only a high probability of profit, but also of the loss.
Clients shall consider the risk of financial loss caused by the failure of information, communication, electronic and other systems, that is outside the scope of influence of the Company or the Client him/herself.
When executing trading operations, the Client shall assume the risk of financial loss, which can be caused by:
the failure of the Client's hardware, software and internet connection;
the improper operation of the Client's equipment;
the wrong settings in the Client Terminal;
delayed Client Terminal updates; and
the Client’s ignorance of the applicable rules described in the user guide for the terminal.
The Client acknowledges that at the moment of peak load there may be difficulties in getting telephone communication with a company representative, especially on the fast market (for example, when key economic indicators are released). The company is not responsible for disruption, failure or malfunction of telephone facilities.
The Client acknowledges that under abnormal market conditions, the execution time for Client Instructions may increase.
The Client accepts the fact that only one Request or Instruction is allowed in the queue. Once the Client has sent a Request or Instruction, any other Request or Instruction sent by the Client may be ignored.
The Client acknowledges that the only reliable source of quoting information is the server for Clients with live accounts. The quote base in the Client terminal shall not be considered a reliable source of quoting information given that in the case of a bad connection between the Client Terminal and the server, some of the quotes simply may not reach the Client Terminal.
The Client acknowledges that when the Client closes the window to place/modify/delete an Order, as well as the window to open/close a position, the Instruction or Request which has been sent to the server will not be canceled.
The Client assumes the risk of executing unplanned Transactions in the event that the Client sends another Instruction before receiving the result from the Instruction sent previously.
The Client acknowledges that if an Order has already been executed but the Client sends an Instruction to modify the level of a pending Order and the levels of Stop Loss and/or Take Profit orders at the same time, the only Instruction that will be executed is the Instruction to modify the Stop Loss and/or Take Profit levels on the position opened on that Order.
The Company accepts no responsibility for any losses that arise as a result of delayed or unreceived communication sent to a client from us by any form.
The Client acknowledges that information transmitted via electronic means is not protected from unauthorized access.
The Client assumes full responsibility for the safekeeping of information received from the Company and shall bear the risk of any financial loss caused by unauthorized access to the Client’s trading account by any person. The Client is responsible for keeping all login details safe. The Company strongly recommends that user details are not written down or saved.
All losses caused by Force Majeure events shall be exempt from the responsibility of the Company.
The Client shall bear all financial and other risks when completing operations (or actions connected with these operations) on financial markets that are statutorily prohibited or restricted by the legislation of the jurisdiction in which the Client is resident. The Client must be aware of such legislation and check whether there are any restrictions before initiating trading.
The Client must familiarize themselves with commission and other charges of the Company before trading. If there is any doubt, the Client should first contact Client support.
Updated May 2022
This document is drafted for the purpose of outlining the procedures that will be implemented by employees of Exfor Limited. Company Nr. LL17698 in relation to addressing and resolving complaints of сlients in a fast and effective manner.
A complaint must be made in written form and submitted to the Company’s attention via e-mail specified on the website. A complaint must be written in a clear and understandable manner in order to be processed. The Client shall not use inappropriate offensive language, the email should be in English, otherwise the Company may take longer to reply subject to translation requirements.
The following information must be submitted together with a complaint:
Account number;
Full name and surname;
Details of the problem/issue;
Affected transaction number (if applicable);
Date and time of subject issue.
The Company has outlined the following set of rules that will be followed by responsible employees in order to ensure timely, effective and appropriate measures to be implemented in relation to specific issues:
After the Client has lodged a complaint, he/she will be contacted by a responsible employee within 48 hours after receipt of the complaint;
Details of the complaint must be recorded as soon as it is received from the Client;
Responsible employee shall take all appropriate measures to investigate, address and resolve the complaint;
After the investigation is concluded, the responsible employee shall inform the Client about the outcome, and explain in clear and understandable way further instructions/steps that will be undertaken in order to resolve the issues and maximally prevent occurrence of such in future.
Client complaints can be directed to:
Address: Attn: Exfor Limited, Unit B, Lot 49, 1st Floor, Block F, Lazenda Warehouse 3, Jalan Ranca-Ranca, 87000 F. T. Labuan, Malaysia
E-Mail: complaints@exfor.com
Telephone: +60 087 416 989
Updated May 2022
We understand the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of personal information that we hold about our clients and others. This Privacy Policy Statement outlines how we manage and protect the personal information you give us and hold about our clients ("The Policy").
By visiting our website and using our services, your agreement to this Policy is implied. We are bound by the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“the Act”).
This Policy will be reviewed periodically to take account of changes to our operations or practices and, further, to make sure it remains appropriate to any changes in law, technology and the business environment. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. Any information held will be governed by our most current Policy.
We may collect and process the following data about you:
Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website, including information provided when registering to open an Account, using our Website, subscribing to our services or posting material;
If you contact us or respond to surveys we may keep a record of that correspondence;
Details of any orders or transactions (historic or otherwise) that you have carried out through our Website;
Details of your visits to our Website including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access;
Information about your computer, including IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers. This data does not identify any individual
When you use our website we will use cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Website. This helps us to provide you with a more relevant and effective experience when you browse our Website, including presenting websites according to your needs or preferences and allows us to improve the site generally. For further information, please see our Cookie Policy.
We use information held about you in the following ways:
to ensure that the content in our website is presented to you in the most effective manner;
to provide you with products and services that you request from us or, where you have consented to be contacted, for products and services that we feel may be of interest to you;
managing and administering the products and services provided to you;
keeping you updated as a client in relation to changes to our services and relevant matters;
to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
We may also use your data, or permit selected third parties to use your data, to provide you with information about goods and services which may be of interest to you and we or they may contact you about these by email.
Depending on the products and services concerned and the relevant restrictions on sensitive data, personal information may be disclosed to:
Potential successors in title to our business;
third party consultants, contractors or other service providers who may access your personal information when providing services (including but not limited to IT support services) to us;
any organisation or person acting on your behalf to whom you request us to provide information, including your financial advisor, broker, solicitor or accountant;
third parties where it is necessary to process a transaction or provide services you have requested;
Banks (where they request additional information following payments that you have made);
credit providers, courts, tribunals and regulatory authorities in response to legal and regulatory requests or other government agencies, as agreed or authorised by law;
auditors or contractors or other advisers auditing, assisting with or advising on any of our business purposes, in any jurisdiction where we operate;
at your request or with your consent.
You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting through an email on our website.
You also have the right to obtain a copy of any personal information which we hold about you and to advise us of any perceived inaccuracy. To make a request, please write to us, verifying your identity and specifying what information you require.
We may charge an administrative fee to cover the cost of verifying the application and locating, retrieving, reviewing and copying any material requested.
We hold personal information in a combination of secure computer storage facilities and paper-based files and other records and take steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
We limit access of information only to those relevant employees or partners that need to know the information in order to enable the carrying out of the Agreement between us. We do not hold or store Credit/Debit card data.
We have procedures in place regarding how to safeguard and use Your Information, for example by requesting our Affiliates and employees to maintain the confidentiality of Your Information.
We will not keep your personal information for any longer than is required. In many cases, information must be kept for considerable periods of time. However, when we consider that information is no longer needed, we will remove any details that will identify you or we will securely destroy the records.
While we will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard our clients’ personal information , you acknowledge that the use of the internet is not entirely secure and for this reason we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal data transferred from you, or to you via the internet.
By submitting any personal information (including, without limitation, your account details) to us you consent to the use of information as set out in this Policy. We reserve the right to amend or modify this Privacy Policy and if we do so we will post the changes on the Website. It is your responsibility to check the Privacy Policy when you submit information to us. Your use of the Website will signify that you agree to any such changes.
We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other websites even if you accessed a third-party website using links from our Website. We recommend that you check the policy of each website you visit and contact the owner or operator of such website if you have concerns or questions.
If you have any questions regarding this Policy, wish to access or change your information or have a complaint, or if you have any questions about security on our Website, you may email us at an email displayed at our website.
Updated May 2022
‘the company’
Exfor Limited
‘the Labuan FSA’
The Labuan Financial Services Authority
‘the Labuan IBFC’
The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre
‘the AMLCO’
The anti-money laundering compliance officer
‘(the) regulations’
The responsibilities of Exfor Limited under a Money Broking Licence from the Labuan FSA
‘the Act’
The Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613)
‘(the) regulations’
The responsibilities of Exfor Limited under a Money Broking Licence from the Labuan FSA
‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, etc
Management of Exfor Limited
‘relevant employee’
Any employee of Exfor Limited who might at any time possess information that will or should cause suspicion of money laundering
‘business relationship’
Is a relationship that company enters into with a customer where both expect that the relationship will be ongoing
‘Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) ’
means the natural persons who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions and their immediate family members or persons known to be close associates of such persons
‘Shell Bank’
means a credit institution or an institution engaged in equivalent activities incorporated in a jurisdiction which it has no physical presence, involving meaningful mind and management, and which is unaffiliated with a regulated financial group
Five specific offences can be determined from the Act which apply generally to the employees of any company providing financial services or handling money in any capacity.
Acquisition, use or possession of criminal property.
Acquiring, using or possessing criminal property is a criminal offence.
Handling the proceeds of corruption.
Corruption by public sector employees or officials and politicians is a serious crime; handling the illicit results of this corruption is a criminal offence.
Arrangements relating to criminal property.
Any arrangement relating to criminal property, including but not limited to its permission or assistance in acquisition, retention or use, is a criminal offence. An employee of a company is permitted to defend themself by proving that they reported their knowledge or suspicion of this immediately to the relevant authority in the correct manner.
‘Tipping-off’.
Revealing any information of any sort that could be considered by a reasonable person to affect an investigation into money laundering is a criminal offence.
Failure to report.
Any person who knows of or suspects money laundering or otherwise could be considered to have reasonable grounds for knowledge or suspicion of the same commits a criminal offence by failing to report this to the competent authority or authorities. Revealing any information of any sort that could be considered by a reasonable person to affect an investigation into money laundering is a criminal offence.
It must be remembered that reporting knowledge or suspicion of money laundering is not under any circumstances considered to breach the requirements of financial companies to maintain their clients’ confidentiality. Even if such knowledge or suspicion is not considered to be sustained under investigation, the only people who are informed of it are the reporter and the AMLCO, so a person incorrectly accused has their confidentiality maintained regardless.
Under the regulations, the company has five main responsibilities in the area of AML compliance:
1. Appoint an AMLCO. The AMLCO would be a senior employee with relevant experience at the company with authority to investigate any and all suspicions to the fullest. The AMLCO would be ultimately responsible for stressing to employees the consequences of failing to adhere to any of the requirements listed in this document.
2. Thoroughly check the identities of all new clients;
3. Simplify as much as reasonably possible for employees the process of reporting suspicious transactions;
4. Take and maintain complete records of clients’ identities and transaction histories;
5. Educate and remind employees about the requirements in this booklet and how to raise suspicion.
The AMLCO has four primary responsibilities:
The AMLCO
During the initial stages of the company’s operations, the compliance officer will also assume the role of AMLCO. In this capacity, they will be ultimately responsible for implementing the regulations concerning AML. This means that in this document ‘compliance officer’ and ‘AMLCO’ refer to the same person; however, the specific tasks of each role are different. If in the future the management of the company sees fit to employ a separate person to act as AMLCO and take the associated responsibilities from the compliance officer, this document will be updated accordingly. As noted above, the AMLCO is a person of authority with access to any and all relevant information for the completion of their duties.
The AMLCO
During the initial stages of the company’s operations, the compliance officer will also assume the role of AMLCO. In this capacity, they will be ultimately responsible for implementing the regulations concerning AML. This means that in this document ‘compliance officer’ and ‘AMLCO’ refer to the same person; however, the specific tasks of each role are different. If in the future the management of the company sees fit to employ a separate person to act as AMLCO and take the associated responsibilities from the compliance officer, this document will be updated accordingly. As noted above, the AMLCO is a person of authority with access to any and all relevant information for the completion of their duties.
Annual Report of the AMLCO
The Annual Report of the AMLCO is a significant tool for assessing the company’s level of compliance with its obligation laid down in the regulations.
The AMLCO’s Annual Report shall be prepared and be submitted to the Board for approval within two months from the end of each calendar year (i.e. at latest, by the end of February each year).
The Annual Report deals with issues relating to money laundering and terrorist financing during the year under review and includes, inter alia, the following:
(a) information for measures taken and/or procedures introduced for compliance with any amendments and/or new provisions of the Law and the Directive which took place during the year under review
(b) information on the inspections and reviews performed by the AMLCO, reporting the material deficiencies and weaknesses identified in the policy, practices, measures, procedures and controls that the company applies for the prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. In this respect, the report outlines the seriousness of the deficiencies and weaknesses, the risk implications and the actions taken and/or recommendations made for rectifying the situation
(c) the number of Internal Suspicion Reports submitted by company personnel to the AMLCO;
(d) the number of reports submitted by the AMLCO to the Labuan IBFC and Labuan Financial Services Authority;
(e) information, details or observations regarding the communication with the employees on money laundering and terrorist financing preventive issues;
(f) summary figures, on an annualized basis, of clients’ total deposit in Euro and other currencies in excess of the set limit of USD 15,000 (together with comparative figures for the previous year);
(g) information on the policy, measures, practices, procedures and controls applied by the company in relation to high risk clients as well as the number and country of origin of high risk clients with whom a business relationship is established or an occasional transaction has been executed
(h) information on the systems and procedures applied by the company for the ongoing monitoring of client accounts and transactions
(i) information on the measures taken for the compliance of branches and subsidiaries of the company, with the requirements of the regulations in relation to client identification, due diligence and record keeping procedures and comments/information on the level of their compliance with the said requirements;
(j) information on the training courses/seminars attended by the AMLCO and any other educational material received;
(k) information on training/education and any educational material provided to staff during the year, reporting, the number of courses/seminars organized, their duration, the number and the position of the employees attending, the names and qualifications of the instructors, and specifying whether the courses/seminars were developed in-house or by an external organization or consultants;
(l) results of the assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of staff training;
(m) information on the recommended next year’s training program;
(n) information on the structure and staffing of the department of the AMLCO as well as recommendations and timeframe for their implementation, for any additional staff and technical resources which may be needed for reinforcing the measures and procedures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
Compliance Officer
The compliance officer in turn has four primary responsibilities:
Updating the company’s AML policies and updating these as might be required by the regulations;
Informing employees on how they might recognise suspicious transactions;
Ensuring full awareness as relevant of the policies in this document as well as the regulations among employees plus adherence to them;
Training new hires on the policies in this document and their duties to follow them as soon as practicable after onboarding.
Before the company can execute any transaction for any new client, a number of procedures need to be in place and carried out.
AML procedures, namely identification, record-keeping, discovering and monitoring unusual or suspicious transactions and as appropriate internal reporting and control
Employees know their responsibilities and the company’s procedures
Relevant training is being undertaken
All relevant requests from outside sources are forwarded directly to the AMLCO
Further, the AMLCO shall monitor and evaluate, on an on-going basis, the effectiveness of the measures and procedures of this Policy.
The adopted risk-based approach that is followed by the company, and described in the Policy, has the following general characteristics:
recognises that the money laundering or terrorist financing threat varies across Clients, countries, services and financial instruments;
allows the board of directors to differentiate between clients of the company in a way that matches the risk of their particular business;
allows the Board to apply its own approach in the formulation of policies, procedures and controls in response to the Company’s particular circumstances and characteristics;
helps to produce a more cost-effective system;
helps to produce a more cost-effective system;
promotes the prioritisation of effort and actions of the company in response to the likelihood of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing occurring through the use of the services of the company.
The risk-based approach adopted by the company, and described in the Policy, involves specific measures and procedures in assessing the most cost effective and appropriate way to identify and manage the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risks faced by the company.
Such measures include:
identifying and assessing the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risks emanating from particular clients or types of clients, financial instruments, services, and geographical areas of operation of its clients;
managing and mitigating the assessed risks by the application of appropriate and effective measures, procedures and controls;
Continuous monitoring and improvements in the effective operation of the policies, procedures and controls.
The application of appropriate measures and the nature and extent of the procedures on a risk-based approach depends on different indicators. Such indicators include the following:
the scale and complexity of the services offered;
geographical spread of the services and clients;
the nature (e.g. non face-to-face) and economic profile of clients as well as of financial instruments and services offered;
the distribution channels and practices of providing services;
the volume and size of transactions;
the degree of risk associated with each area of services;
the country of origin and destination of clients’ funds;
deviations from the anticipated level of transactions;
the nature of business transactions.
The AMLCO shall be responsible for the development of the policies, procedures and controls on a risk-based approach. Further, the AMLCO shall also be responsible for the implementation of the policies, procedures and controls on a risk-based approach.
The risk-based approach adopted by the company involves the identification, recording and evaluation of the risks that have to be managed.
The company shall assess and evaluate the risks it faces, for the use of the company’s services for the purpose of Money Laundering or Terrorist Financing. The particular circumstances of the company determine suitable procedures and measures that need to be applied to counter and manage risk.
In the cases where the services and the financial instruments that the company provides are relatively simple, involving relatively few clients or clients with similar characteristics, then the company shall apply such procedures, which are able to focus on those clients who fall outside the ‘norm’.
The company shall be, at all times, in a position to demonstrate to Labuan IBFC and Labuan Financial Services Authority that the extent of measures and control procedures it applies are proportionate to the risk it faces for the use of the company’s services, for the purpose of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
Company Risks
The following, inter alia, are sources of risks which the company faces with respect to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing:
(a) Risks based on the client’s nature:
complexity of ownership structure of legal persons;
companies with bearer shares;
companies incorporated in offshore centres;.
PEPs;
the volume and size of transactions;
clients engaged in transactions which involves significant amounts of cash;
clients from high risk countries or countries known for high level of corruption or organised
crime or drug trafficking;
unwillingness of client to provide information on the beneficial owners of a legal person
(b) Risks based on the client’s behaviour:
client transactions where there is no apparent legal financial/commercial rationale;
situations where the origin of wealth and/or source of funds cannot be easily verified;
unwillingness of clients to provide information on the beneficial owners of a legal person.
client transactions where there is no apparent legal financial/commercial rationale;
situations where the origin of wealth and/or source of funds cannot be easily verified;
unwillingness of clients to provide information on the beneficial owners of a legal person.
(c) Risks based on the client’s initial communication with the company:
non face-to-face clients;
clients introduced by a third person.
(d) Risks based on the company’s services and financial instruments:
services that allow payments to third persons/parties;
products or transactions which may favour anonymity.
Risk Mitigation
Taking into consideration the assessed risks, the company shall determine the type and extent of measures it will adopt in order to manage and mitigate the identified risks in a cost effective manner. These measures and procedures include:
adaption of the client due diligence procedures in respect of clients in line with their assessed Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing risk;
requiring the quality and extent of required identification data for each type of client to be of a certain standard (e.g. documents from independent and reliable sources, third person information, documentary evidence);
obtaining additional data and information from the clients, where this is appropriate for the proper and complete understanding of their activities and source of wealth and for the effective management of any increased risk emanating from the particular business relationship or the occasional transaction;
ongoing monitoring of high risk clients’ transactions and activities, as and when applicable.of any increased risk emanating from the particular business relationship or the occasional transaction;
In this respect, it is the duty of the AMLCO to develop and constantly monitor and adjust the company’s policies and procedures with respect to the client due diligence and identification procedures. These actions shall be duly documented and form part of the Annual Money Laundering Report, as applicable.
Risk management is a continuous process, carried out on a dynamic basis. Risk assessment is not an isolated event of a limited duration. Clients’ activities change as well as the services and financial instruments provided by the company change. The same happens to the financial instruments and the transactions used for money laundering or terrorist financing.
In this respect, it is the duty of the AMLCO to undertake regular reviews of the characteristics of existing clients, new clients, services and financial instruments and the measures, procedures and controls designed to mitigate any resulting risks from the changes of such characteristics. These reviews shall be duly documented, as applicable, and form part of the Annual Money Laundering Report.
Whenever the company receives supporting documents related to a new client’s identity, it needs to be completely satisfied that they demonstrate the existence of the new client as a real natural or legal person and that they are indeed whom they say they are. Although the company will at times rely on third party sources as part of its fact-checking procedure when onboarding clients, the company bears ultimate legal responsibility for the checks being satisfactory.
Where the identification submitted is incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise insufficient, the company cannot proceed with opening an account for the client submitting such identification. Indeed, in more serious cases where money laundering, identity fraud or other crimes are suspected as opposed to simple carelessness or misunderstanding, the AMLCO would inform the Labuan FSA.
The fact that no single identification can be completely guaranteed as genuine means that the company needs to use more than one document to confirm every new client’s full name and address. As part of the company’s policy of due diligence, five main pieces of information need to be collected and actions conducted:
Establish the source of the applicant’s funds
Discover the applicant’s net worth
Find out the particular source of the funds to be deposited
Where applicable, source references or any other appropriate documents that attest to the applicant’s good reputation
Conduct thorough background checks
The process is slightly different for individual clients and corporate clients, partially because the identities of companies and their reputations can be harder to establish conclusively.
Individual Clients
Each individual applicant needs to present official identification containing their full name, nationality, date of birth and complete residential address. Documents accepted are both of a passport, national ID or equivalent and a utility bill, bank statement, letter from government or reliable equivalent. Both of the documents submitted by each client need to be valid when they are submitted to the company.
Corporate Clients
Institutional applicants listed on known stock exchanges or otherwise subjects of sound evidence that they are wholly owned subsidiaries or similar are not subject to any extra checks beyond those customary in other cases.
Other companies however do need to have their existence, standing and identity confirmed as well as the authority of the people acting for them verified. The documentation required for this can differ from country to country and between companies, but under most circumstances they would be some or all of these:
Incorporation certificate or similar
Incumbency document or equivalent (this needs to state the applicant company’s current directors clearly)
Statutes, articles of association or other analogous documents proving that the natural person applying has permission to enter the applicant company into a legal agreement
If necessary and available, an extract from the commercial register of the applicant company’s country of incorporation would be requested to support the other documents
AMLCO and his associates must understand the structure, the beneficial owners and all of the officers of the institutional client before accepting such a client.
Beneficial Owners
KYC and due diligence on owners of accounts also differs from individual clients to institutional clients.
For individuals, the company needs to be sure from the documents etc submitted that the client applying is acting on their own behalf and not on behalf of another natural or legal person.
For institutional clients, the company needs to know the applicant company’s structure from the documents submitted. It also needs to know where the funds for the account would come from, who are the main owners (or singular owner) of the company’s stock if this applies in addition to verifying the identities of the company’s board of directors or equivalent (i.e. who has ultimate control over the applicant company’s money). In all cases, the AMLCO would make a reasonable informed judgement on whether further information is required.
Politically Exposed Persons
The Company shall apply the following with respect to the accounts of “Politically Exposed Persons”:
1. The establishment of a Business Relationship or the execution of an occasional transaction with persons holding important public positions and with natural persons closely related to them, may expose the Company to enhanced risks, especially if the potential Client seeking to establish a Business Relationship or the execution of an Occasional Transaction is a PEP, a member of his immediate family or a close associate that is known to be associated with a PEP.
2. The general policy of the Company is not to deal with PEPs.
Methods of Submission
Clear scans of documents sent by email or through the company’s CRM are normally acceptable. Sometimes though the company might need to see certified copies or originals. Documents could be certified by a notary public or other similar authority, an appropriate public sector official or an authorised financial institution. Copies of documents can also be certified by employees of the company if they are made in employees’ presence.
If any document relevant to a corporate entity (such as extract from a register of commerce) is available online through a relevant official website, the company may refer to the online version of the document on condition that a printout is made by an employee of the company and stored in the appropriate client’s file.
In addition to these documents, clients need to provide their phone numbers and email addresses.
Higher Risk Countries, clients & activities
Various countries have been identified by the FATF in the so-called ‘FATF blacklist’ as having insufficient AML standards. Applicants from these countries are subject to the minimum higher scrutiny, and applications from residents of countries under the category ‘call to apply counter-measures’ would not be accepted.
The risks of applicants from offshore jurisdictions are on the whole covered by the measures outlined in this document; however, the transactions of such clients were they to be accepted would be subject to elevated scrutiny by the company. This also applies to clients whose wealth is known to come from activities vulnerable to money laundering.
On-going Monitoring
The constant monitoring of the clients’ accounts and transactions is an imperative element in the effective controlling of the risk of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
In this respect, the AMLCO shall be responsible for maintaining as well as developing the on-going monitoring process of the company. The Internal Auditor (once appointed) shall review the company’s procedures with respect to the on-going monitoring process, at least annually.
The procedures and intensity of monitoring clients’ accounts and examining transactions on the client’s level of risk shall include the following:
1. the identification of:
a. transactions which, as of their nature, may be associated with money laundering or terrorist financing;
b. unusual or suspicious transactions that are inconsistent with the economic profile of the Client for the purposes of further investigation;
c. in case of any unusual or suspicious transactions, the relevant employee shall be responsible to communicate with the AMLCO.
2. further to point (a) above, the investigation of unusual or suspicious transactions by the AMLCO. The results of the investigations are recorded in a separate memo and kept in the file of the clients concerned;
3. the ascertainment of the source and origin of the funds credited to accounts;
4. the use of appropriate IT systems.
Any employee who suspects money laundering needs to report it. Beyond this, though, if reasonable grounds are deemed to exist for suspicion of the same, an employee would be committing an offence by not suspecting and reporting. This is why clear and strong KYC policies are essential for preventing money laundering and related activities and it is also essential that employees share the company’s commitment to these.
‘Knowledge of money laundering’ can of course vary in its definition, but a reasonable person might concur that it could include intentional ignorance of what should be suspicious to an honest person and failure to ask the questions which would be appropriate to a reasonable person.
Suspicion can also be defined in different ways but it does need to be something beyond vague conjecture. An objective test for reasonable grounds for suspicion then could include the factors above in addition to a failure to analyse and evaluate sufficiently the information available.
Preventing ambiguity in the definitions of ‘knowledge’ and ‘suspicions’ necessitates that the company make as certain as it can that its staff fully understand these KYC policies in their entirety.
As above, employees must report any relevant suspicion to the AMLCO. All suspicions must be detailed in full with names of everyone involved, full information on the client’s account and as complete as possible a description of what gave rise to the suspicion. Any internal enquiry about a report also needs to be documented.
After submission, the AMLCO should remind the reporting employee to avoid ‘tipping-off’ the subject and that any information submitted must not be disclosed to anyone except the AMLCO. Note that an employee still needs to report even when a transaction has not been completed because of suspected money laundering.
Whenever a report is received, the ALMCO considers its contents. If the suspicion is sustained after this analysis by the AMLCO, the report is forwarded to Labuan FSA: this process does not need to be and should not be approved by anyone other than the AMLCO.
When considering reports, the AMLCO will study any information and documentation necessary, particularly KYC documents as listed earlier in this policy document.
‘Suspicious transaction’ might reasonably be defined as a transaction incongruent with a particular client’s profile and/or known legitimate business activities. This is why KYC is so important.
The following list of commonly used questions can help to determine whether a transaction could be suspicious:
Does it broadly make sense for this client?
Is its size relative to the client’s profile abnormal in any way?
Is it unusual considering the client’s historic transactions?
Are there any suspicious transactions linked with it?
Is the manner of payment suggested by the client in any way odd?
Does it together with others demonstrate a significant change to the usual pattern of this client’s transactions?
Any suspicion of money laundering, however seemingly unimportant to the employee who might have it, needs to be raised as soon as possible with the AMLCO using the internal reporting form included at the end of this document. Every credible or sustained report received in this way must be forwarded to the Labuan FSA by the AMLCO.
A watertight defence against a claim for breach of confidence is reporting a suspicion of money laundering. Nonetheless, comments to any third parties such as the press of any sort need to be made through the AMLCO, as should any information requested. This is to prevent the offence of ‘tipping-off’.
1. Transactions with no discernible purpose or are unnecessarily complex.
2. Use of foreign accounts of companies or groups of companies with complicated ownership structure which is not justified based on the needs and economic profile of the client.
3. The transactions or the size of the transactions requested by the client do not comply with his usual practice and business activity.
4. Large volume of transactions and/or money deposited or credited into an account when the nature of the client’s business activities would not appear to justify such activity.
5. The business relationship involves only one transaction or it has a short duration.
6. There is no visible justification for a client using the services of a particular financial organisation. For example the Client is situated far away from the particular financial organisation and in a place where he could be provided services by another financial organisation.
7. There are frequent transactions in the same financial instrument without obvious reason and in conditions that appear unusual (churning).
8. Any transaction of the nature, size or frequency appears to be unusual, e.g. cancellation of an order, particularly after the deposit of the consideration.
9. Transactions, which are not in line with the conditions prevailing in the market, in relation, particularly, with the size of the order and the frequency.
10. Settlement of the transaction by a third person, which is different from the client, which gave the order.
11. Instructions of payment to a third person that does not seem to be related with the instructor.
12. Transfer of funds to and from countries or geographical areas which do not apply or they apply inadequately FATF’s recommendations on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
13. A client is reluctant to provide complete information when establishing a Business Relationship about the nature and purpose of its business activities, anticipated account activity, prior relationships with financial organisations, names of its officers and directors, or information on its business location. The client usually provides minimum or misleading information that is difficult or expensive for the financial organisation to verify.
14. A client provides unusual or suspicious identification documents that cannot be readily verified.
15. A client’s home/business telephone is disconnected.
16. A client that makes frequent or large transactions and has no record of past or present employment experience.
17. Difficulties or delays on the submission of the financial statements or other identification documents, of a client/legal person.
18. A client who has been introduced by a foreign financial organisation, or by a third person whose countries or geographical areas of origin do not apply or they apply inadequately FATF’s recommendations on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
19. Shared address for individuals, particularly when the address is also a business location and/or does not seem to correspond to the stated occupation (e.g. student, unemployed, self-employed, etc).
20. The stated occupation of the client is not commensurate with the level or size of the executed transactions.
21. Financial transactions from non-profit or charitable organisations for which there appears to be no logical economic purpose or in which there appears to be no link between the stated activity of the organisation and the other parties in the transaction.
22. Unexplained inconsistencies arising during the process of identifying and verifying the client (e.g. previous or current country of residence, country of issue of the passport, countries visited according to the passport, documents furnished to confirm name, address and date of birth etc).
23. Complex trust or nominee network.
24. Transactions or company structures established or working with an unneeded commercial way. e.g. companies with bearer shares or bearer financial instruments or use of a postal box.
25. Use of general nominee documents in a way that restricts the control exercised by the company’s board of directors.
26. Changes the performance and the behaviour of the employees of the financial organisation.
1. Sources and methods
The funding of terrorist organisations is made from both legal and illegal revenue generating activities. Criminal activities generating such proceeds include kidnappings (requiring ransom), extortion (demanding “protection” money), smuggling, thefts, robbery and narcotics trafficking. Legal fund raising methods used by terrorist groups include:
1. collection of membership dues and/or subscriptions
2. sale of books and other publications
3. cultural and social events
4. donations
5. community solicitations and fundraising appeals.
Funds obtained from illegal sources are laundered by terrorist groups by the same methods used by criminal groups. These include cash smuggling by couriers or bulk cash shipments, structured deposits to or withdrawals from bank accounts, purchases of financial instruments, wire transfers by using “straw men”, false identities, front and shell companies/ shell banks as well as nominees from among their close family members, friends and associates.
2. Non-profit organisations
Non–profit and charitable organisations are also used by terrorist groups as a means of raising funds and/or serving as cover for transferring funds in support of terrorist acts.
The potential misuse of non-profit and charitable organisations can be made in the following ways:
1. Establishing a non-profit organisation with a specific charitable purpose but which actually exists only to channel funds to a terrorist organisation.
2. A non-profit organisation with a legitimate humanitarian or charitable purpose is infiltrated by terrorists who divert funds collected for an ostensibly legitimate charitable purpose for the support of a terrorist group.
3. The non-profit organisation serves as an intermediary or cover for the movement of funds on an international basis.
4. The non-profit organisation provides administrative support to the terrorist movement.
Unusual characteristics of non-profit organisations indicating that they may be used for an unlawful purpose are the following:
1. Inconsistencies between the apparent sources and amount of funds raised or moved.
2. A mismatch between the type and size of financial transactions and the stated purpose and activity of the non-profit organisation.
3. A sudden increase in the frequency and amounts of financial transactions for the account of a non-profit organisation.
4. Large and unexplained transactions by non-profit organisations.
5. The absence of contributions from donors located within the country of origin of the non-profit organisation.
