Central Bank: Due Diligence Measures for Transaction Parties and Their Representatives

The Central Bank of Kuwait has stressed the need for its supervised entities to exercise due diligence whenever any indicators link transactions or their parties to suspicions of money laundering, terrorist financing, or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In a circular issued to all local banks, exchange companies, financing companies, electronic money service providers, electronic payment service providers, and electronic payment system operators, the Central Bank stated that, in its commitment to enhancing compliance with the requirement to apply due diligence measures when executing transactions for which information, evidence, or indicators suggest that any of the parties involved or their representatives are linked to suspicions of money laundering, terrorist financing, or financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and in an effort to improve the procedures for the due diligence measures required under Law No. 106 of 2013 concerning the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as under the instructions issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait on February 16, 2023, concerning the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and related instructions, it is imperative to adopt due diligence measures when dealing with such transactions and their parties and representatives, and to strengthen the measures taken in this regard, in accordance with Law No. 106 of 2013 and the Central Bank’s instructions.