What is the purpose of the Wwft?
The Dutch Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft) is intended to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Its purpose is to safeguard the integrity of the financial markets.
As a financial service provider, we conduct customer due diligence. As part of this customer due diligence, we establish your identity and ask you several questions.
When you take out a business loan, you must answer questions about matters such as what the money will be used for. This enables us to understand the background to the transaction.
We also check whether you are a PEP.
What is a PEP?
PEPs are persons who hold or have held a prominent political position, as well as their immediate family members or close associates. The term PEP is no longer limited to foreign politically exposed persons: domestic politically exposed persons now also fall within this definition.
A PEP includes, in any event:
- a head of state, head of government, minister, deputy minister or state secretary
- a member of parliament or a member of a similar legislative body
- a member of the governing body of a political party
- a member of a supreme court, constitutional court or other high judicial body whose decisions are not subject to appeal, except in exceptional circumstances
- a member of a court of auditors or of the board of a central bank
- an ambassador, chargé d’affaires or senior officer in the armed forces
- a member of the management, supervisory or administrative body of a state-owned enterprise
- a director, deputy director, member of the board or holder of an equivalent position at an international organisation.