AML Policy

1. Introduction

INDYVO Z.O.O (“INDYVO”/”Company”) adheres to the highest standards of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and demands the same from its employees, directors, and consultants. The Company is committed to providing a secure platform for its users that’s free from money laundering activities and financing of terrorism.

2. Legal compliance

This document is prepared in line with provisions, requirements and recommendations of (including but not limited to):

●  the Act of 1 March 2018 on counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing;
●  FATF Recommendations;
●  Kodeks karny (Criminal and penal law);
●  Anti-Money Laundering Directives (EU).

3. Definition of money laundering and terrorist financing

Money laundering is the act of concealing illicitly obtained money, making it seem legal. This involves three steps:

1. Placement: Introducing criminal funds into the financial system directly or indirectly.
2. Layering: Disguising the source of the money through numerous financial transactions, creating a web of transactions to hide its origins.
3. Integration: Making the ‘cleaned’ money reappear as legally earned funds, such as through property dealing.

On the other hand, terrorist financing refers to the collection or provision of funds intending to support terrorists or terrorist activities. The source of the funds can be legitimate or illegitimate.

While money laundering requires funds from criminal activity, terrorist financing doesn’t consider the source of funds. However, both involve transferring and disguising funds.

To combat these illegal activities, the Company has implemented internal security measures focused on identifying high-risk customers, detecting suspicious actions, and recognizing precursor crimes to money laundering and terrorist financing.

4. Risk assessment and risk-based approach

The Company initiates a primary risk assessment for each customer based on the details provided during registration, such as home address, location, age, and PEP/sanctions status. This assessment classifies customers into low, medium, or high risk for money laundering/terrorist financing, which influences future actions taken with them. The risk assessments are regularly updated and revised when new data becomes available.

The Company implements a risk-based approach to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Indyvo evaluates customer risk, geographical risk, product risk, and delivery channel risk, revising this assessment periodically based on the customer’s activity and knowledge.

5. Compliance officer

The Compliance Officer, appointed by the management board, is responsible for ensuring compliance with AML/CFT laws and regulations within the Company.

Compliance Officer is fully engaged in defining and managing the processes needed to prevent money laundering and other fraudulent activity based on the following principles:

● The Company assumes that most customers are not money launderers. However, it identifies players since it requires the applicable regulations, using a risk-based approach.
● The Company monitors all transactions and activity.
● The Company continuously monitors its customers as well as risks and processes.
● The Company will ensure that all relevant employees are trained on AML and CTF policies and procedures and emphasize alerting these risks. Relevant employees will be required to pass competency tests on this topic.

6. Due diligence measures

The Company applies due diligence measures to understand its customers and their business relationships better. This includes identifying politically exposed persons (PEPs), their families, and close associates.

The Company differentiates between standard, simplified, and enhanced customer due diligence procedures. The customer must collaborate in fulfilling these procedures. If due diligence cannot be performed, the company will not initiate or maintain the business relationship, and transactions will be refused. Additionally, the company will assess the need to submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR).

The Company implements standard customer due diligence (CDD) measures upon customer registration. The CDD process includes:

1. Identification – acquiring information from the customer to establish their identity.
2. Verification – confirming the customer’s claimed identity by procuring and validating documents or information from a reliable, independent source.

According to the above requirements, The Company collects the following information for identification and verification to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing:

● Last name(s);
● first name(s);
● date of birth;
● address (street, no., ZIP code, city).

7. Simplified and enhanced due diligence

The company might utilize simplified due diligence (SDD) measures when a risk assessment based on our internal policies indicates that the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing is lower than average in certain economic activities, fields, or circumstances.

Before implementing SDD measures, a company representative confirms that the business relationship or transaction is of lower risk and assigns a reduced risk level to the transaction, act, or customer.

The company can use SDD measures only if it can maintain sufficient monitoring of transactions, activities, and business relationships. This should enable the identification of irregular transactions and facilitate the reporting of suspicious activities in line with our internal procedures.

The Company implements enhanced due diligence (EDD) procedures to manage and mitigate situations where the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is higher than typical.

EDD measures are always applied when:

1. Doubts arise regarding the authenticity of the provided information or documents during the identification process, or when identifying the beneficial owner.
2. The customer is a politically exposed person (excluding local politically exposed persons), their family member, or a close associate.
3. The customer is from or resides in a high-risk third country.
4. The customer is from a country or territory deemed to have inadequate AML/CTF systems as per credible sources such as mutual evaluations or published follow-up reports, or is considered a low tax rate territory.

The Company also employs EDD measures when a risk assessment, based on our rules, indicates that the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing is higher than usual due to the customer’s economic or professional activity, field, or other factors.

8. Documents acceptance

The Company mandates that customers provide an officially issued document featuring a photograph for identity confirmation. The following documents are acceptable for this purpose:

● a current, signed passport;
● driving license;
● identity card;
● travel document or passport.

Proof of Address can be verified using the following:

● a utility bill linked to the residential address, dated within the last 3 months;
● official correspondence from a central or local government authority, department, or agency, dated within the last 3 months;
● a lease agreement (doesn’t have to be within the last 6 months but should still be active)

The key criteria for the documents provided by the customer are:

● the document must be current and not expired;
● the document needs to be clear, legible, and of good quality;
● mobile phone bills are not accepted.

9. PEP and sanctions screening

Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), including their family members and close associates, are subject to enhanced scrutiny by reporting entities due to the potential abuse of public office for personal benefit and the possibility of laundering the proceeds through the financial system.

A PEP refers to an individual who is or has been entrusted with significant public roles such as:

1. Head of state or government.
2. Minister, deputy, or assistant minister.
3. Member of parliament or similar legislative body.
4. Member of a political party’s governing body.
5. Member of a supreme court, a court of auditors, or a central bank’s board.
6. Ambassador, chargé d’affaires, or high-ranking military officer.
7. Member of a state-owned enterprise’s administrative, management, or supervisory body.
8. Director, deputy director, or board member of an international organization.

A PEP’s family member includes their spouse or equivalent, children and their spouses or equivalents, and the PEP’s parents.

A close associate of a PEP is an individual known to have beneficial ownership or joint beneficial ownership of a legal entity or arrangement, or any other close business ties with a PEP; or an individual who solely owns a legal entity or arrangement set up for the de facto benefit of a PEP.

Engaging with individuals subject to international sanctions can pose significant risks to the Company, including its directors, officers, and owners.

The Company will apply the same matching rules for sanction screenings as it does for PEP screenings.

The Company’s sanction screening will cover, at least, the following lists:

1. UN Sanctions
2. EU Sanctions
3. Sanctions managed by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI-UK)
4. Sanctions managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC-US)
5. Sanctions under the International Sanction Act

All true matches will be escalated to a Compliance Officer for further evaluation and action.

10. Suspicious activity monitoring and reporting

If the Company uncovers activities or information suggesting possible money laundering, terrorist financing, or other criminal offenses, or if it suspects or is aware of such illegal activities, a Company Compliance Officer must report this to the Financial Intelligence Unit immediately.

The Company, including all its employees, officers, and directors, are forbidden to disclose to the individual, their beneficial owner, representative or third party about a report made about them to the FIU, any intention to make such a report, or about the initiation of criminal proceedings.

11. Data retention

The Company retains documents and information for identification and verification of clients for a minimum of five years after the end of the business relationship. The Company also ensures that it complies with data protection laws.

12. Training

The Company provides regular AML/CTF training to its employees to ensure they understand their legal obligations and can effectively implement the Company’s AML/CFT policies.

13. Cooperation and exchange of information

The Company is committed to cooperating with supervisory and law enforcement authorities to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.