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Pay369 AML and CTF policy

For the purposes of this AML/CTF Policy (the «Policy«) the following definitions shall have the following meanings:

«Approved Personal Data Provider» («APDP«) means a Third-Party Service Provider that is a reputable company with the high level of expertise and proven security systems in the field of outsource services for personal data collection, storage, processing and anonymization, User identification, and performing KYC, AML/CFT, Sanctions compliance and general compliance background checks. The Licensor’s current APDP is Sum + Substance;

«Money laundering» means:

  • conversion or transfer of property derived from criminal activity or property obtained instead of such property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in such activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an activity to evade the legal consequences of that person’s actions;
  • acquisition, possession or use of property derived from criminal activity or property obtained instead of such property, knowing, at the time of receipt, that such property was derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation therein;
  • concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of, property derived from criminal activity or property obtained instead of such property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in such an activity; and
  • any and all activities that may be explicitly qualified as «money laundering» under any applicable law.

Participation in, association to commit, attempts to commit and aiding, abetting, facilitating and counselling the commission of any of the activities referred to above are also considered money laundering.

«Terrorism financing» means:

  • intentional offer, collection, preparation, obtainment or facilitation of the obtainment of funds for the purpose of using same although aware that they will be used, in part or in whole, in the commission of a terrorist offence;
  • intentional offer of funds to a terrorist organization or person or collection, preparation, obtainment or facilitation of the obtainment of funds for such terrorist organization or person;
  • intentional acquiring, taking, managing, investing, possessing, transmitting, transferring, depositing, keeping, using or disposing of funds or carrying out any commercial or financial bank transaction if all or part of such funds are collected as a result of a terrorist offence, owned by a terrorist organization or intended for the financing of a terrorist organization, person or offence; and
  • any and all activities that may be explicitly qualified as «terrorism financing» under any applicable law.

Money laundering and Terrorism financing are hereinafter collectively referred to herein as «Prohibited Operations».

«Suspicious Transactions» mean, collectively, transactions of Individual Users as they are defined in Terms of Use that are made, or are attempted to be made, via Swap Desks of SDOs that may involve, inter alia:

  • «dirty» crypto assets, i.e. those used for illegal purposes and/or on illegal trading platforms such as Hydra;
  • «dirty» crypto wallets, i.e. those used for illegal purposes and/or in association with illegal trading platforms such as Hydra;
  • sanctioned persons, PEPs, or representatives thereof;
  • that may be classified as attempts to bypass sanctions imposed by any country of the world on any individual or business whatsoever;
  • that may be classified as attempts to perform Prohibited Operations.

Any and all other definitions given in this Policy shall have the meaning assigned to them in Terms of Use of the Pay369.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

This Policy aims to prohibit and prevent Prohibited Operations and any activity that facilitates them or any other criminal activities. The Licensor requires its officers, employees, affiliates and Users, including but not limited SDOs, to adhere to the policies and procedures outlined in this Policy aimed at prohibiting and preventing the use of the Pay369 for performing Prohibited Operations.

The Licensor and all SDOs shall comply with the requirements contained in Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 On Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations (the «AML-CFT Law«), as well as the requirements of other laws and regulations of the UAE and of the foreign and international bodies to the extent in which they relate to the Licensor’s and SDOs’ business, including the US FinCEN requirements, the requirements set forth by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) etc.

The Licensor develops this Policy, introduces amendments and additions to it at its own discretion, and oversees compliance with its provisions and requirements.

The SDO shall read this Policy prior to accepting the Pay369 Terms of Use. The SDO’s acceptance of the Terms of Use, as well as the SDO making deals with the other Users or using the Pay369 in any manner after accepting the Terms of Use, shall signify the SDO’s acceptance of all provisions of the current version of this Policy.

COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR

To oversee and implement the procedures reflected in this Policy, the Licensor appoints the Compliance Director.

The Compliance Director is responsible for the collection, analysis, investigation and reporting of information on any suspicious activities and the training of the Licensor’s employees pertaining to the relevant procedures. The Compliance Director shall determine the procedures and rules for carrying out SDOs’ identification, reviewing and monitoring unusual activity and technical features of the Licensor’s implementation of this Policy. The Compliance Director develops and enforces the effective implementation of the Policy and interacts with the actual and potential SDOs in order to fulfill its mission.

The Compliance Director is responsible for conducting AML/CFT audit at least annually. In addition, annual independent review of the AML/CFT procedures might be performed by a third party. In order to achieve separation of duties and to avoid conflict of interests, the Compliance Director is not responsible for or involved in such independent review.

USER IDENTIFICATION POLICY

The Licensor uses procedures for identification and verification of SDOs. These procedures apply to all SDOs without regard to number and volume of swapping (exchanging) deals and the types of assets offered for such deals. ANY POTENTIAL SDO HEREBY AGREES TO PROVIDE THE LICENSOR AND/OR ITS APDP WITH THE INFORMATION REQUESTED (WHICH INFORMATION THE LICENSOR AND/OR ITS APDP MAY REQUEST AT ANY TIME DEEMED NECESSARY AND AT ITS DISCRETION) FOR THE PURPOSES OF IDENTITY VERIFICATION AND THE DETECTION OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS, PROHIBITED OPERATIONS, FRAUD, OR ANY OTHER CRIMES AND PERMITS THE LICENSOR AND/OR ITS APDP TO KEEP A RECORD OF SUCH INFORMATION. THE POTENTIAL SDO WILL NEED TO COMPLETE CERTAIN VERIFICATION PROCEDURES BEFORE IT IS PERMITTED TO START USING THE PAY369 AND TO ACCESS SPECIFIC PAY369 FUNCTIONALITY.

For the purposes of potential SDOs’ identification and subsequent SDO Account verification, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may request the following documents:

  • proof of identity (passport, driver’s license, national/government identity card);
  • proof of address (bank statement, utility bill);
  • phone number verification by receiving a code via SMS;
  • taxpayer identification number;
  • in case of legal entities, incorporation documents for a company, including:
    • state registration certificate with  company registration number;
    • company charter;
    • articles of incorporation or memorandum of association (if available);
    • document confirming the powers and authority of the person authorized to act on the company’s behalf without a power of attorney, etc.;
    • government license or data from public records on regulated businesses (if applicable in the SDO’s jurisdiction of incorporation).

In certain cases, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may request a potential SDO to submit additional information about its business, provide relevant records, and arrange for calls with Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP staff so the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may, among other things, establish the source of the assets and funds for any swap (exchange) deals carried out in the course of SDO’s use of the Pay369.

By providing the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP with the information listed in this Section or any other information that may be required by the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP, the potential SDO confirms that the information is true, accurate and complete, and that the SDO has not withheld any information that may influence Licensor’s and/or Licensor’s APDP evaluation of potential SDO for the purposes of its registration as an SDO on the Pay369 and the provision of access to the Platform and its certain functions. The potential SDO undertakes to promptly notify in writing and provide the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP with information regarding any changes in circumstances that may cause any such provided information to become false, inaccurate or incomplete and also undertake to provide any other additional documents, records and information as may be required by the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP and/or applicable law.

The Platform uses multi-level systems and procedures to collect and verify information about SDOs in order to protect the Licensor, the Platform and its Users from fraudulent activities, and to keep appropriate records of SDOs. Access to the Platform, and restrictions imposed on SDO’s use of additional functionality of the Platform, and any changes to such restrictions from time to time, may be based on the identifying information and/or proof of identity provided to the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP by the SDO.

«KNOW YOUR USER» VERIFICATION PROCEDURES

The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP conducts the Know Your Client (KYC) verification procedures to avoid the risk of being held liable and to protect itself from Users attempting to use the Licensor or its Platform for carrying out illegal activities.

As part of the KYC procedures, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP collects and stores information on the essential facts pertaining to actual SDOs, potential SDOs, its employees, officers or beneficial owners.

After carrying out the identification procedures pertaining to the SDO, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP stores the information obtained in the relevant records. The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP carries out identification procedures pertaining to the SDO at least once.

The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may require the SDO to provide or verify additional information, or to wait until completion of review, before permitting the SDO to use any additional Platform functions. Restrictions associated with the level of identity verification are displayed in the Personal Account on the Platform.

The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP is committed to protecting Users’ rights and the confidentiality of their personal data. The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP collects personal information about the SDO’s employees or officers only to the extent necessary for the performance the Terms of Use. Such personal information may be disclosed to third parties only in a limited number of circumstances, in accordance with the applicable laws, other Associated Documents and other agreements between the Licensor and the SDO.

The Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP shall carefully maintain SDOs’ files, including statements, transaction reports, receipts, notes, internal correspondence, and any other documents related to the SDO both in the electronic and paper format for a period of at least 5 (five) years.

To ensure that the information that the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP holds on its Users is always accurate and up to date, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP shall, upon its’ sole discretion, determine the periodicity at which each SDO shall be, upon request, obliged to provide their KYC information anew to continue using and accessing to the Platform.

Hereby SDO acknowledges that Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may make enquiries, whether directly or through third parties, that Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP considers necessary to verify identity of the individuals associated with SDO or protect SDO and/or Licensor and/or other Users against fraud or other financial crimes, and to take action Licensor reasonably deem necessary based on the results of such enquiries. When the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP carries out these enquiries, SDOs acknowledges and agrees that personal information of their employees and officers may be disclosed to fraud prevention or financial crime agencies and that these agencies may respond to the enquiries in full. Additionally, the Licensor and/or Licensor’s APDP may require you to wait some amount of time after completion of registration before permitting you to use the Platform further.

IDENTIFICATION AND DETECTION OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES BY LICENSOR AND SDOS

All SDOs must monitor their transactions for Suspicious Transactions that may relate to, inter alia, Prohibited Operations. The Licensor reserves the right to monitor SDO transactions and request transaction logs in order to determine if a Suspicious Transaction was attempted or took place.

Grounds for determining that a specific transaction is suspicious may be personal observations and experience of the Licensor’s and SDO’s employees, as well as information received or identified.

The Compliance Director, interacting with designated representatives of all SDOs, continuously monitors Suspicious Transactions.

In accordance with the applicable laws of the UAE and the requirements of international organizations, the Licensor may, where appropriate and without the obligation of obtaining the SDO’s approval or notifying the SDO, notify regulating and/or law enforcement agencies of any Suspicious Transactions that the Compliance Director has revealed without the relevant SDOs assistance.

The Licensor periodically refers to and consults the lists published by the authorities of the UAE, the USA, the EU, and international organizations that contain lists of known terrorists or persons suspected of terrorist activities, terrorist organizations, high-risk countries, a limited list of countries and persons subject to the OFAC sanctions, jurisdictions that do not provide sufficient level of anti-money laundering procedures, as well as countries subject to sanctions to determine whether any active or potential SDO, and/or such SDO’s country of jurisdiction is included in the above lists.

The Licensor and all SDOs shall comply with all directives issued in connection with any of the above lists by the U.S. Treasury, any agency of the U.S. federal government, or any other regulatory organization.

In addition, the Licensor and all SDOs shall periodically refer to and consult the FinCEN website and follow any special measures imposed by the FinCEN.

The Licensor shall continuously conduct due diligence procedures pertaining to all SDOs using the Pay369 and scrutinize their activities to ensure SDOs’ deals’ compatibility with the Licensor’s knowledge of its SDOs, their business and, when necessary, their source of funds.

The Licensor is entitled, at its sole discretion and in accordance with this Policy, at any time during the provision of access to the Platform demand any SDO to present the documents, list of which shall be established solely by the Licensor including the form of the documents to be presented, to reinstate Personal Account functionality or justify any other action (or operation) performed (or about to be performed) by the SDO. Such requests will be done via email.

Simultaneously, Licensor reserves the exclusive right to unilaterally decline any potential SDOs’ application for registration with the Platform and/or terminate further provision of access to the Platform without any statements or explanations to the SDO.

An investigation may be opened by the Licensor against any SDO due to the Compliance Director’s reasonable suspicion that the relevant SDO may be involved in Suspicious Transactions and/or Prohibited Operations. The Licensor reserves the right to request from the relevant SDO during the investigation the copy of the identity certificate (passport), information on bank cards used, information on all transactions made through the relevant Swap Desk, and also other documents confirming legal possession and a legal origin of assets or funds.

SDOs are forbidden to access to and to use the Pay369 for any illegal or fraudulent action, or for any illegal or fraudulent operations according to the legislation of the UAE or SDO’s jurisdiction.

Platform’s denial shall not constitute basis for any Licensor’s civil liability before SDO or other third parties for non-performance of any obligations in relation to SDO or any User, if such denial was caused by violation of this Policy, Terms of Use or any other Associated Documents.

The Licensor may refuse to grant access to the Platform as required by law, regulation or any court or other authority to which Licensor is subject in any jurisdiction, for instance, if there is suspicion of Suspicious Transactions, Prohibited Operations, fraud, or any other financial crime.

THIRD PARTIES

To perform some of its business functions, the Licensor may use third-party service providers. The Licensor shall make an effort to determine, during the initial and ongoing due diligence process, to the extent possible whether there are any initiated investigations and filed lawsuits against any such third-party service providers. The Licensor shall also determine whether a third-party provider has obtained all the necessary licenses, permits, and approvals before establishing a business relationship with such third-party service provider.

With respect to its own staff, the Licensor shall carefully review all candidates for employment and determine whether the activities of a new employee fall in the category that is susceptible to money laundering activities. In addition, the Licensor has prepared and implements a number of personnel training programs on User identification procedures and prevention of money laundering activities.

SDO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES

Government authorities of different countries and, in some cases, international organizations, may impose severe civil and criminal penalties against any person that violates the laws and regulations referred to in this Policy. Such civil and criminal legal penalties may include fines in the amount of up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and the term of criminal punishment may be up to 10 (ten) years in prison. In addition, government authorities may seize any property involved in criminal violation of these laws and regulations, including companies, may suspend bank accounts, or arrest any other assets that may be associated with criminal behavior.

Under certain circumstances, SDOs may be deemed criminally liable for the actions of their employees, affiliates or contractors, or Individual Users using the relevant Swap Desk. In this regard, it is important for the employees and the officer of the SDOs to have adequate knowledge in this sphere; it is also important that SDOs should ensure the compliance of their employees’ actions with all applicable AML/CTF laws and regulations.

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT AND SDO OBLIGATIONS

Each SDO (its authorized employee) certifies that they have read and understood this Policy, and that they (or their entity) shall operate in full compliance with the requirements and standards outlined in the Policy and comply with all applicable laws and other regulations and requirements governing their activities.

Each SDO (its authorized employee) acknowledges that they are responsible for their actions in accordance with the effective laws in the field discussed in this Policy and shall bear liability pertaining to failure to comply with such laws.

Each SDO acknowledges that it is obliged to:

  • comply with Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018 On Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organizations of the UAE, any requirements of other applicable laws, including international, directed on fight against illegal trade, financial frauds, laundering and legalization of the money received illegally, associated with or derived from illegal activities;
  • be aware of the guidance set down by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit, and the recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing;
  • exclude direct or indirect complicity of illegal financial activities and to any other illegal operations with use of the Platform;
  • implement detailed and robust policies and procedures for prevention of money-laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT);
  • identify and mitigate the risks associated with the SDO’s product or service in terms of Suspicious Transactions and Prohibited Operations;
  • immediately block and suspend any and all Suspicious Transactions and inform the Licensor about them.

The SDO guarantees legal origin, legal ownership and availability of the actual right to use of the assets used when dealing with Individual Users through the relevant Swap Desk(s).

Each employee or officer of the SDO, whose duties are associated with the provision of products and services of the SDO and who directly or indirectly deals with Individual Users, is expected to undergo anti-money laundering training and to know the requirements of the applicable laws and regulations which affect his job responsibilities, and it shall be the affirmative duty of such employee to carry out these responsibilities at all times in a manner that complies with the requirements of the relevant laws and regulations.

In case of suspicious or fraudulent activities of an SDOs or Individual Users using their Swap Desks, including use of the stolen credit cards or assets or «dirty» crypto assets or crypto wallets and/or any other activities of fraudulent nature or violations of this Policy, Licensor reserves the right to suspend, restrict, or to terminate SDO’s access to the Platform and to block SDO’s Personal Account, and also to cancel results of any actions performed by SDO via the Platform and to investigate actions of doubtful nature owing to what to suspend such actions before clarification of the nature of emergence of money and the end of investigation.

CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP

In case of a merger, acquisition, or sale of the SDO (change of ownership), continued use of the Platform by the subsequent owner or operator of the SDO («subsequent SDO«) signifies his/her agreement to be bound by this Policy and other Associated Documents. In the event of such a change of ownership such owner or operator will be deemed to have consented to the disclosure to, and use by the Platform, of any and all information or documents about such owner or operator listed in herein, registration details, history of use of the Platform and personal data of its employees or officers, the legal grounds and instruments associated with the change of ownership and other information requested by the Licensor. THE SDO HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT ANY CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP WILL BE ALWAYS DEEMED AS THE LEGAL GROUND FOR REPEATED KYC PROCEDURES TO BE CARRIED OUT AS DESCRIBED HEREIN. THE SDO FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT FAILURE TO NOTIFY THE LICENSOR IN 5 (FIVE) DAYS BEFORE THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE SDO ACCOUNT TO SUBSEQUENT SDO ABOUT SUCH CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP  LEADS TO TERMINATION OF ACCESS TO THE PLATFORM AND TO BLOCKING OF THE SDO PERSONAL ACCOUNT IN QUESTION BY THE LICENSOR.