Untitled Document

With the purpose of enforcing the provisions in Act No. 93 “Act Against Terrorism Actions” of December 20th, 2001, UNO’s International Covenant to Suppress Financing of Terrorism of 1999, Resolution No. 1373 of the United Nation’s Security Council dated September 28th, 2001, the Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development dated October 31st, 2001, Resolution No. 91 “Guide to Members of the National Banking System for the Detection and Prevention of Illegal Capital Flows” of the Minister-President of Banco Central de Cuba dated March 19th,1997, and Instruction No. 1 “Guide to Members of Cuba’s National Banking System for the Detection, and Prevention of Illegal Capital Flows”, the following is issued:

1. Each bank shall implement the procedures, which permit it to select and know its clients, whether customary or not, for whose benefit accounts are opened, paying special attention to unusual or suspicious transactions. To this effect, the following measures shall be taken:

a) Accounts that the holders or beneficiaries of which could not be identified shall not be opened. The measures provided in such Resolution No. 91 and in instruction No. 1 dated February 20th, 1998 shall be applied to it.

b) In order to identify the clients who are legal persons, the banks shall verify the documentation referred to: name of the client, business address, legal status, establishment, objectives, legal structure and legal provisions applicable to them. In order to open accounts, attention shall be paid to the provisions in Resolution No. 92 “Standards on minimal requirements for foreign legal persons to open an account in free convertible currency” of the Minister-President of Banco Central de Cuba, dated November 19th, 2001.

c) In the same way, the provisions in the aforementioned Resolution No. 91 and Instruction No. 1 referring to cash deposit and withdrawal, credits guaranteed with deposits, means of payment, encrypted accounts, safe deposit boxes and foreign trade transfers and transactions shall be taken into account.

2. The banks shall ascertain that any natural or legal person who is interested in money or security transfers, shall have the corresponding authorisation from Banco Central de Cuba and be registered in the country, as provided in the Cuban laws in force.

3. Before executing an electronic transfer of funds, banks should obtain from the client accurate information containing: first and second name, address and account’s number. This information shall be kept together with the connected transfer or message for at least five (5) days after the accounts is closed and after the transaction is finished.

4. The banks are bound to conduct the investigation and monitoring of those fund transfers originated in operations that, not having the complete information referred to in the previous paragraph, moves to a suspect of an illegal activity. Therefore, they have the power to reject fund transfers that are suspicious, under reasonable grounds, to be related or that are going to be used to financing terrorist actions.

5. Special attention should be paid to operations made by the so-called non-profit organisations, which can:

- Use legitimate entities as channels to finance terrorism, with the purpose of preventing their assets from being frozen.

- Hide the undercover deviation of funds designed to illegal purposes towards terrorist organisations.

6. Banks are bind to report immediately to the competent entities of the Ministry of Interior about any complex transaction of an unusual amount and also about those transactions that do not show any legal economic purpose, that demonstrates unquestionably that a money laundering operation is in progress, or when, on reasonable grounds, a suspicion arises that any fund is related or is going to be used in terrorist actions. Banks are empowered to immobilise preventively or freeze funds and other financial assets from natural or legal persons, Cuban or foreign. If investigations prove by evidence the culpability of the persons implied, a claim shall be submitted to the competent courts, and in case of a proven culpability through a final judgement, the amount of such funds shall be confiscated by the Cuban Estate.

This information should also be communicated to the Risk Information Centre (RIC) of Banco Central de Cuba.

7. Banks are bound to collaborate in the investigations to be made with respect to any suspicious activity of illegal capital movements, taking into account the regulations in force regarding Bank Secrecy.

8. The legal provisions concerning Bank Secrecy in Cuban Laws shall not be an impediment to collaborate with the authorities when the empowered authority under statutory right applies for information.

9. The members of the National Banking System shall collaborate with the acting authority through the Responsible (Officer) of Observance designated by each bank, after submitting the required documentation.

This application for information and delivery of information shall be accomplished within the time limit determined to this effect.

10. The members of the Banking System cannot let any person know, except another authority empowered and through the corresponding authorisation, of the fact that the competent authority is applied for information or that information is given to it.

11. During the legal force of an operation, and at least during five (5) years as from the conclusion of the transaction, the members of the National banking System should keep registers of the information and documentation which permit the reconstruction of such a financial operation.

12. The members of the Banking System are bind to put into effect the correspondent audits for the purposes of reviewing the observance of what is instructed in the previous paragraphs and to establish an effective way to test the observance of control standards addressed to detection, prevention and elimination of financing to terrorism.

13. The members of the Banking System are bind to include in personnel training plans the instructions in these guidelines of its strict observance.

14. Banco Central de Cuba shall supervise the observance of these guidelines and its non-observance shall be an object of imposition of the actions provided in the special laws in force.

UNIQUE: All the members of the National Banking System should implement this instruction within thirty (30) days as from its notification.

LET BE KNOWN to the First Vice-President, Vice-presidents, Auditor, Secretary, Directors, and everyone at Banco Central de Cuba, as well as the Presidents of the banks of the National Banking System and Non-banking Financial Institutions, and also to the Heads of the Entities that are members of the Drug National Commission, and to all the natural and legal persons that should know thereof.

DONE in Havana City, on May 7th, 2002, “Year of the Heroes Prisoner of the Empire”.