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Law No. 21 On 18 January 1999 In Order To Prevent And Punish Money Laundering

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 21 din 18 ianuarie 1999 pentru prevenirea şi sancţionarea spălării banilor

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LEGE no. 21 21 of 18 January 1999 to prevent and sanction money laundering
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 18 18 of 21 January 1999



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Chapter 1 General provisions + Article 1 This law regulates the prevention and sanctioning of money laundering activities. + Article 2 For purposes of this law: a) by money laundering is understood the facts provided in art. 23, if they were committed through legal or physical persons referred to in art. 8 8; b) by goods means any categories of values, tangible or intangible, including money, mobile or real estate, as well as legal acts or documents certifying their property. + Chapter 2 Procedures for identifying clients and processing information on money laundering + Article 3 (1) As soon as the employee of a legal person or the natural person among those provided in art. 8 has suspicions that an operation to take place is aimed at laundering money will refer the person or persons designated according to art. 16, which, on the basis of thorough indications, will, in turn, inform the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering, hereinafter referred to as the office. It will immediately certify receipt of information. (. If the Office considers it necessary, it may, justifiably, decide to suspend the transaction. The decision will be communicated immediately, in writing, to the legal or physical person to whom the transaction was requested. (3) For the operations of deposit or withdrawal of amounts in cash, in lei or in foreign currency, amounts exceeding the equivalent in lei of 10,000 euros, the staff in the structures provided in art. 8 will report to the office within 24 hours of the date of the operation. When transferring these amounts from bank accounts will be applied the provisions of par. ((1) and (2). (4) If the office considers that the 24-hour period provided in par. (3) is insufficient, he may formulate in this interval a reasoned request to the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Justice, in order to extend the necessary period by a maximum of 3 working days. The Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Justice may authorize, only once, motivated, the requested extension or may order the termination of the transaction. (5) When the application for the extension of the period by a maximum of 3 working days proves to be unfounded, the office will respond to the civil loss incurred by the natural or legal person concerned. (6) If the decision not to carry out the transaction is not communicated to the legal entities referred to in art. 8 during the period mentioned in par. (2) and (3), they will be able to make the transaction. + Article 4 If a person among those provided in art. 8 is aware that a transaction for which he received instructions to carry out is aimed at laundering money and it is impossible for him not to carry it out or, by not performing it, it is possible to thwart efforts to pursue the beneficiaries suspected money laundering operation, the institution or the person concerned will inform the office immediately after it has carried out the transaction. In such cases it will be stated the reason why the information about the transaction could not be transmitted, before it was carried out. + Article 5 If the office receives information according to art. 3 3 or 4, it may require any competent institution to provide the data necessary for their verification. + Article 6 The Office will proceed to examine the information provided to it according to art. 3-5. If this examination brings data or thorough indications relating to money laundering, the information will be transmitted immediately to the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Justice. + Article 7 Supply in good faith of information in accordance with the provisions of art. 3-5, made by the legal entities provided in art. 8 or by the employees or their representatives mentioned in art. 16, cannot attract disciplinary, civil or criminal liability thereof. + Article 8 It is subject to this law: a) banks, branches of foreign banks and credit institutions; b) financial institutions, such as: investment funds, investment firms, investment management companies, storage companies, custody companies, securities companies, pension funds and other such funds, which perform the following operations: lending, including, inter alia, consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring, commercial transaction financing, including lump sum, financial leasing, payment transactions, issuance and administration means of payment, credit cards, traveller's cheques and the like, the granting or assumption of guarantees and underwriting of commitments, transactions on its own account or on behalf of clients through money market instruments, cheques, payment orders, certificates of deposits and others, foreign exchange, products financial derivatives, financial instruments related to the exchange rate or interest rate, securities, participation in the issuance of shares and the provision of services related to these issues, advice to businesses on matters of capital structure, industrial strategy, consulting and services in the field of mergers and acquisitions of enterprises, intermediation in interbank markets, portfolio management and consultancy in this field, custody and administration of securities; c) insurance and reinsurance companies; d) economic agents who carry out gambling activities or pawnshops; e) natural and legal persons who provide legal, notary, accounting, financial and banking legal assistance; f) any other natural or legal person, through acts and acts committed outside the financial-banking system. + Article 9 (1) Legal persons referred to in art. 8 have the obligation to establish the identity of customers for any transaction whose minimum limit, in lei or in foreign currency, represents the equivalent of 10,000 euros, regardless of whether the transaction takes place through a single operation or through several operations that relate to each other. (2) When the amount is not known at the time of acceptance of the transaction, the natural or legal person, obliged to determine the identity of the clients, will proceed to their immediate identification, when informed about the value of the transaction and when she determined that the minimum limit was reached. ((3) As soon as any information appears that the transaction is aimed at money laundering, it will be done to identify customers, even if the value of the transaction is less than the minimum limit set by the office. + Article 10 (1) Customer identification data shall include: a) in the case of individuals: the civil status data mentioned in the identity documents provided by law; b) in the case of legal entities: the data mentioned in the registration documents provided by law, as well as the proof that the individual who leads the transaction legally represents the legal entity (2) In the case of foreign legal entities, at the opening of bank accounts will be requested those documents showing the identity of the company, the headquarters, the type of company, the place of registration, the special power of the one representing it in transaction, as well as a translation into Romanian of documents authenticated by a notary public. + Article 11 If there is information, regarding the customers referred to in art. 9 and 10, that the transaction does not take place in its own name, the legal entities mentioned in art. 8 will take measures to obtain data about the person's true identity in the interest of or on whose behalf these customers act, including from the office. + Article 12 (1) The identification requirements will not be imposed on the insurance and reinsurance companies referred to in art. 8, in connection with life insurance policies, if the insurance premium or the annual payment rates are lower or equal to the equivalent in lei of the amount of 1,000 euros or the single insurance premium paid is, in lei equivalent, up to 2,500 euros. If the premium rates or annual payment amounts are either to be increased in such a way that they exceed the limit of 1,000 euros and 2,500 euros, respectively, in lei equivalent, the identification of customers will be required. (2) Identification requirements are not mandatory in the case of subscription of insurance policies issued by pension funds, obtained by virtue of a contract of employment or due to the profession of the insured, provided that the policy cannot be redeemed before maturity and cannot be used as collateral or collateral for obtaining a loan. (3) The identification requirements shall not be required, unless it has been established that the payment will be made by debiting an account opened on behalf of the customer at a bank or an institution for savings. + Article 13 (1) In each case where the identity is requested according to the provisions of this law, the legal person or the natural person provided in art. 8, which has the obligation to identify the customer, will keep a copy of the document, as proof of identity, or identity references, for a period of 5 years, starting with the date when the relationship with the customer ends. (2) Legal and physical persons referred to in art. 8, to which the provisions of this law apply, will keep, in a form that can be used as a means of proof in justice, secondary or operative evidence and records of all financial transactions subject to this law, for a period of 5 years from the execution of each transaction, after which they will be handed over to the office, for archive. + Article 14 (1) Legal and physical persons referred to in art. 8 will draw up written report for each transaction which, by virtue of its nature or unusual character, relative to the context of the usual activities of the customer, may be related to money laundering. (2) The report, the form of which will be determined by the Office, shall be submitted to it. + Article 15 The Office will provide, at its own expense, special training programs for the representatives of the persons provided in art. 8. Legal persons referred to in art. 8 will establish internal control procedures and methods to prevent and prevent money laundering and will ensure employee training for recognition of transactions that may be related to money laundering and immediate measures to be taken. taken in such cases. + Article 16 (1) Legal persons referred to in art. 8 will designate one or more persons who have responsibilities in the application of this law, whose names will be communicated to the office, together with the nature and with the limits of the mentioned responsibilities. (2) Each person designated, according to par. (1), by the legal entities specified in art. 8 is responsible for carrying out the tasks established by them in applying this law + Article 17 Authorities with the right of financial control according to the law and those of prudential supervision of legal entities specified in art. 8, who take cognizance of data indicating money laundering actions, will inform the office about them. + Article 18 (1) The staff of the Office shall have the obligation not to disclose the information received during the activity except in a judicial procedure, including after the termination of the office, for a duration of 5 years. (2) It is forbidden to use for personal purposes the employees of the office of the information received both during the activity and after its termination. ((3) Provisions of para. (1) and (2) do not apply to communications within the mutual collaboration made on the basis of international treaties to which Romania is a party or on the basis of reciprocity, communications made to foreign institutions that have similar functions and which have the obligation to keep the secret under conditions similar to the Office, if such communications are made for the purpose of carrying out the tasks resulting from the activity. + Chapter 3 National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering + Article 19 (1) The National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering is established, a specialized body with legal personality, subordinated to the Government, based in Bucharest. (2) The office has as its object of activity the prevention and control of money laundering, the purpose in which it receives, analyzes, processes information and notifies the authorities empowered by law. (3) In order to carry out its duties, the Office shall constitute its own apparatus, at the central and territorial level, as the case may be. (4) At the level of the counties and the city of Bucharest, operative structures can be constituted, hereinafter referred to as structures, led by a director. (5) The nomenclature of functions, the conditions of studies and seniority for the classification and promotion of the staff of the office shall be proposed by him and shall be approved by Government decision, considering the salary of the personnel of the bodies the authority. (6) The office consists of one representative of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Justice, the National Bank of Romania, the Romanian Association of Banks and the Court of Justice Accounts, appointed to positions, for a period of 5 years, by Government decision. (7) The Office is headed by a President, with the rank of Secretary of State, appointed by the Government from among the members of the Office, who also has the status of principal authorising officer. (8) The members of the office must meet, at the date of appointment, the following conditions: a) to be licensed and to be at least 10 years old in an economic or legal function; b) to be domiciled in Romania; c) to have only Romanian citizenship; d) have the exercise of civil and political rights; e) to enjoy a professional reputation and unirate morals. (9) In case of holiday of a post within the office, the head of the competent authority will propose to the Government a new person within 30 days from the date of the holiday. (10) The members of the office shall immediately communicate, in writing, to the President of the Office the occurrence of any situation of incompatibility with the conditions provided in par. ((8). (11) The office of member of the Office shall be incompatible with any other public or private function, except for teaching positions in higher education. (12) During the period of employment, the members of the office will be posted, respectively their employment contract will be suspended, and upon termination of the mandate they will return to the basic function. (13) The mandate of the member of the office shall cease in the following situations: a) on expiry of the term for which he was appointed; b) by resignation; c) by death; d) by the impossibility of exercising the mandate for a period of more than 6 months; e) the occurrence of incompatibilities; f) by revocation by the appointing authority. (14) The staff employed in the office or in its structures cannot occupy any post and will not perform any function in any of the institutions provided for in art. 8 simultaneously with the quality of employee of the office or its structures. + Article 20 (1) For the functioning of the office and its structures, the Government and, as the case may be, the local public administration authorities will transmit in their administration the necessary buildings-land and buildings-from the public or private domain, within 60 days from the date of registration of the application. (2) The Office shall draw up its draft own budget, which it shall submit to the Government. (3) Annually or when the Government decides, the office shall submit reports of activity. (. In the exercise of his duties the Office shall adopt decisions by a majority of votes. + Chapter 4 Liabilities and penalties + Article 21 Violation of the provisions of this law attracts, as appropriate, civil, disciplinary, contravention or criminal liability. + Article 22 (1) It constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine of 5,000,000 lei to 20,000,000 lei non-compliance with the obligations provided in art. 3 3 para. ((1), art. 4, 6, 9 and 11-16, if the act is not committed under such conditions as to be considered, according to the criminal law, a crime. (2) The sanctions provided in par. ((1) shall also apply to legal persons. (3) Contraventions are found and the fine applies by persons within the specific office designated for this purpose. (4) The provisions of this Law shall be supplemented, accordingly, with the provisions Law no. 32/1968 for the establishment and sanctioning of contraventions, except art. 25 25 and 26. + Article 23 (1) It constitutes the crime of money laundering and is punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 12 years: a) the change or transfer of values, knowing that they come from the commission of crimes: narcotic trafficking; non-compliance with the regime of weapons and ammunition in aggravating form; non-compliance with the regime of nuclear materials or other radioactive matter; non-compliance with the regime of explosive materials; counterfeiting of coins or other values; pimping; smuggling; blackmail; illegal deprivation of liberty; deception in banking, financial or insurance; bancruta fraudulent; theft and concealment of motor vehicles; failure to comply with protection of some goods; trafficking of protected animals in their countries; trade in human tissues and organs; crimes committed through computers; crimes committed with credit cards; crimes committed by persons who do Non-compliance with the provisions on the import of waste and residues; non-compliance with the provisions on gambling; for the purpose of concealing or concealing their illicit origin, as well as for the purpose of concealment or favouring persons involved in such activities or alleged that they would evade the legal consequences of their acts; b) concealment or concealment of the real nature of the provenance, belonging, disposition, movement of property of the goods or the right to them, knowing that these goods come from the commission of one of the offences referred to in lett. a); c) acquisition, possession or use of goods, knowing that they come from the commission of one of the offences referred to in lett. a). (2) The association, initiation, accession or support in any form, for the purpose of committing the crime of money laundering, shall be punished with imprisonment from 5 to 15 years. (3) The attempt is punishable. + Article 24 Non-compliance with the obligations provided 18 constitutes a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years. + Article 25 In case of committing the crimes provided for in 23 and 24 will be ordered, under the conditions of art. 118 of the Criminal Code, and the confiscation of the goods that are the subject of the crime, and if they are not found, the offender is obliged to pay their equivalent in money. + Chapter 4 Final provisions + Article 26 Identifying customers according to art. 9 will be made from the date of entry into force of this law. + Article 27 The minimum limit of the transaction, provided in art. 9 9 para. (1), and the maximum limits of the amounts, provided in art. 12 12 para. (1), may be modified by the Government, at the proposal of the office. + Article 28 This law shall enter into force after 90 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, except for the provisions of art. 19, which takes effect from the date of publication. + Article 29 days before the date of entry into force of this law the office will present to the Government for approval its regulation of organization and functioning, as well as the regulations of organization and functioning of its structures. This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in the joint meeting of 17 December 1998, in compliance with the provisions of art. 74 74 para. ((1) and of art. 76 76 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. p. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT, VASILE LUPU p. SENATE PRESIDENT, CRISTIAN DUMITRESCU ------------