Money Laundering Prevention

Financial institutions subject to Law N° 25246 as amended, are LEGALLY BOUND PERSONS to:

• Obtain from its customers, requesting or contributing parties, documents which irrefutably prove their IDENTITY, legal status, domicile and further information as required in each case to perform their activities.
• Report any SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION or event.
• Refrain from disclosing to customers or third parties the activities being performed in compliance with Law N° 25246.

It refers to those transactions performed or intended in an isolated or reiterated manner, regardless of the amount, which lack economic and/or legal justification, are inconsistent with the level of risk of the Customer or its Transactional Profile, or which, due to their frequency, regularity, amount, complexity, nature and/or other particularities, deviate from the customary market practices.

It refers to those transactions intended or performed which raise suspicion as regards Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, or which having been already identified as unusual, after the review and assessment performed by the Legally Bound Person, do not justify their unusual condition. These are reported to the Argentine Financial Information Unit (FIU) through a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR).

Law No. 25246 created the FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNIT, an autarchic entity under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, responsible for analyzing, processing and transmitting the information received from the legally bound persons thereto, in order to prevent and deter money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, it is empowered to require the filing of reports, documents, background information, and any other element it considers useful for the fulfilment of its duties.

Furthermore, this Unit issues various Resolutions applicable to legally bound persons as a whole ( https://www.argentina.gob.ar/uif/normativa-uif ), inter alia:

• FIU Resolution No. 30-E/2017
• FIU Resolution No. 4/2017
• FIU Resolution No. 202/2015
• FIU Resolution No. 29/2013
• FIU Resolution No. 140/2012
• FIU Resolution No. 11/2011
• FIU Resolution No. 229/2011

The Anti Money Laundering Unit is a unit specialized in this area. Its main purpose is to implement the policies and procedures on Control and Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, pursuant to Law No. 25246, its Regulatory Decree, and the Provisions issued by the FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNIT (FIU) and BCRA.

Furthermore, the Institution has the following items:

• Control and Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Other Illegal Activities Committee: This Committee shall be in charge of assisting the Compliance Officer in the design and implementation of the strategy for Control and Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and other illegal activities, in compliance with the legal and administrative regulations in force.
  It is composed by the Compliance Officer, three Directors, the Statutory Auditor, the General Manager, the AMLU Deputy General Manager, and the AMLU Manager. Furthermore, this Committee may require participation of other Officers or Employees of the Bank in the meetings when it deems necessary for addressing any subject concerning thereof.
• Compliance Officer: It is the appointed Director of Banco de la Nación Argentina in charge of ensuring compliance with, and implementation of the procedures and obligations provided for by the laws and regulations in effect on control and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and enforcing and complying with the policies.
• “Know Your Customer” Policy: It is the key to detect transactions related to Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing related, and it is based on the knowledge gained on the customer identification and profile. In the case of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) an enhanced due diligence is conducted and, in order to prevent the relationship of persons associated with terrorism, Web sites listing the persons related to such activity are visited.
• “Suspicious Activity” Report, Analysis, and Registration: The Bank complies with the Reporting Systems established by BCRA and the Argentine Financial Information Unit (“FIU”). It also has a monitoring system in place for the follow-up of transactions that enables the detection of those that may be considered unusual; furthermore, it performs an analysis of unusual transactions for the purpose of identifying those that may be reported as suspicious.
• General Information:
  • The institution’s policies and procedures for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing follow FATF-GAFI 40 Recommendations.
  • The Institution’s AML policies are in compliance with the provisions of the USA PATRIOT ACT.
  • Training programs are in place for all hierarchical levels of personnel of the Institution, which are conducted on a regular basis during the year, in order to cover all personnel.
  • The Bank is subject to ongoing internal audits and external examinations, as well as examination by the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (BCRA) and by Auditoría General de la Nación (the General Audit of the Nation – AGN).
  • The Bank does not render services to Off-Shore Banks (Banks subject to the prohibition of their banking license, regarding transactions with residents from or in the currency of their country of origin), Internet Banks (Banks that operate solely through the Internet, without having any physical premises), and Shell Banks (Banks that are incorporated in a jurisdiction in which they have no physical presence and which are unaffiliated to a financial group).
  • Since Law No. 25246 and the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (BCRA) regulations expressly prohibit the establishment of “Anonymous Accounts”, BNA does not provide such accounts.
  • AML policies are to be complied by BNA Head Office, the national branches, controlled companies and foreign branches or representative offices. To the extent permitted by foreign laws and regulations, by principle, the more rigorous regulations between the Argentine and foreign laws shall apply.
  • The Bank does business in the jurisdiction where it is authorized to carry out its financial activities, engages full time permanent personnel at its corporate domicile, maintains records of the transactions at its offices, and is subject to supervision by competent authority.
  • Based on its own risk assessment, the Bank takes necessary steps to obtain knowledge on expected transactions by its customers. It also performs “Enhanced Due Diligence” on transactions that are considered “High Risk” in nature.
  • Banco de la Nación Argentina has no branches, offices, or subsidiaries in jurisdictions designated as “Non-cooperative”.
  • BNA does not allow the use of correspondent accounts by or on behalf of third parties.

BNA AML CFT STATEMENT
WOLFSBERG GROUP QUESTIONNAIRE
USA PATRIOT ACT SUCURSALES
USA PATRIOT ACT FILIALES