|
|
Antwerp
By Marc Goldstein
For some time now, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has been organizing a series of regular antimoney-laundering (AML) seminars aimed at helping people get up to speed with the fast evolving regulations in this area. Whether regarding Belgian or European laws, or even global guidelines, thorough, detailed information has been supplied to diamantaires in ways never seen before. Practical cases have been reviewed and the latest expected changes — those which are to be implemented but still need final approval — have been studied to make sure the information about AML regulations are conveyed in as comprehensive a way as possible. However, speaking with Rapaport News, Trisevgeni Stavropoulos, AWDC head of legal and compliance, noted, the flip side of the coin is that “once the information will be considered as duly passed on, the Ministry of Economy is going to initiate inspection rounds, so be prepared for their control visits.” And those words turned into actions. On April 18, the members of the diamond community were informed by the AWDC that “The economic inspection of the Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy is conducting inspections at randomly selected registered diamond companies starting today, in order to assess the compliance of the relevant diamond company with its obligations under the antimoney-laundering legislation. These inspections will take place at the registered offices of your company and will be organized until the end of June 2017, with or without prior notice.” At this stage, it is essential to convey the spirit with which the whole process is being set in motion. Stavropoulos recently confirmed that “the goal of the Ministry isn’t to punish the people severely but rather to round up the process and make sure their demands are being duly implemented.” Her comment was in response to AML-appointed officers’ reluctance to welcome the upcoming process. “It’s not going to be a witch-hunt,” she concluded. Shashin Choksi of Swati Gems bvba elaborated, “In a few words, they came in and pulled at random five supply invoices and similarly, five sales invoices from our files. Then, for each one of them, they asked to see all corresponding documents: company registration papers, shareholders details, ID or passport of each major shareholder of over 25 percent. After they were able to make sure it was done properly, they completed their mission and left.” From a distance, the process may appear to be embarrassing at the least, but Choksi and other diamantaires see in it a real source of added value and a major opportunity to be taken. Choksi continued, “Since it’s already there, we should see it as a source of competitive advantage. Combined with the Kimberley Process (KP) scheme, which was invented in Antwerp, the Belgian know your customer (KYC) process allows us to claim that Antwerp is the most transparent diamond center in the world. No other diamond center is as strict as we are here. Thanks to this asset, with the support of our government, we can clearly make a difference, ensuring the reputation of our product better than anywhere else. Where do you think that in the future companies, such as the big Place Vendôme branded jewelers, are going to do their diamond shopping when it comes to guaranteeing their customers that their diamonds are conflict free from the mine up to the moment they wear it — and all that at zero additional cost? We may have lost manufacturing and other assets, but we gained a new one: full transparency.” For those diamantaires still not sure of what is to be expected from them, the AWDC reminds the industry, “It is therefore advised to keep your bookkeeping and client identification up-to-date at all times and have it available at your company’s registered office. Cash payments will also be checked. You can consult the obligations you are required to meet in the Royal Decree of October 13, 2013. More information can be found at www.awdc.be/AML.” For further assistance, any registered diamond company can contact the AWDC AML & Compliance helpdesk. Last but not least, it appears that the zero cash limit won’t be implemented in the diamond industry in Belgium. Indeed, it seems that the government did hear the concerns of the diamantaires, noting in particular the fact that it would be unfair to impose such a limit to people who experience difficulties in opening or maintaining bank accounts. This is to be confirmed during the upcoming months.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2017. To subscribe click here.
|
|
|
|