Prevention of Money Laundering Act (Cap. 373), article 16

16. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act and without prejudice to any other power or f unction conferred on it by thi s Act or by any other law, the Unit shall be responsible for the coll ection, collation, processing, analysis and dissemination of informatio n with a view to preventing, detecting and effectively combating money laundering and funding of terrorism and without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid shall in particular have the following functions: (a) to receive reports of transactions or activities suspected to involve money laundering or funding of terrorism or property that m ay have derive d directly or indirectly from, or constitutes the proceeds of, criminal activity made by any subject person in pursuance of any regulation made under article 12, to supplement such reports with such additional information as may be ava ilable to it or as it may demand, to analyse the report together with such additional information and to draw up an analytical report on the result of such analysis; (b) to send any analytical report as is referred to in paragraph ( a) t o t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r o f P o l i c e f o r further investigation if having considered the report received under paragraph ( a), the Unit also has reasonable grounds to suspect that the transaction or activity is suspicious and could involve money laundering or funding of terrorism or property that may have derived directly or indirectly from, or constitutes the proceeds of, criminal activity; (c) to monitor compliance by s ubject persons and to co- PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING [CAP. 373. 21 operate and liaise with any authority in or outside Malta having supervisory or regulatory functions to ensure such compliance; (d) to send to the Commissioner of Police together with any analytical report sent in accordance with paragraph ( b) or at any time thereafter any information, document, analysis or other material in support of the report; (e) to instruct any subject person to take such steps as it may deem appropriate to facilitate any money- laundering or funding of terrorism analysis in general or the analysis of any partic ular report received by the Unit under paragraph ( a); (f) to gather information on the financial and commercial activities in the country for analytical purposes with a view to detecting areas of activity which may be vulnerable to money laundering or funding of terrorism; (g) to compile statistics and records, disseminate information, make recommen dations, issue guidelines and advice the Minister o n all matters and issues relevant to the prevention, detection, analysis, investigation, prosecution and punishment of money laundering or funding of terrorism offences; (h) to promote the training of, and to provide training for, personnel employed with any subject person in respect of any matter, obligation or activity relevant to the prevention of money laundering or funding of terrorism; (i) to consult with any person, institution or organization as may be appropriate for the purpose of discharging any of its functions; (j) to advise and assist persons, whether physical or legal, to put in place and develop effective measures and programmes for the prevention of money laundering and funding of terrorism; Substituted by: XXVIII. 2017.10. (k) upon request or on its own motion and subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may determine, to cooperate and exchange information with: (i) any foreign body, authority or agency which it considers to have functions equivalent or analogous to those mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) regardless of its nature or status; (ii) any supervisory authority in Malta or any other authority or body having regulatory or supervisory functions outside Malta, when the Unit is of the view that such co-operation and exchange of information would assist in monitoring compliance 22 CAP. 373.] PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING by subject persons or other persons undertaking equivalent activities outside Malta, with anti-money laundering and counter-funding of terrorism laws or with other laws specific to their activities or services, or in ensuring that the financial sector and other relevant sectors or professions are not used for criminal purposes, or to safeguard their integrity; (iii) any other competent authority; (l) to report to the Commissioner of Police any activity which it suspects involves money laundering or the underlying criminal activity, or funding of terrorism and of which it may become aware in the course of the discharge of any of its functions at law; (m) to monitor compliance with any restrictions on payments in cash which may be introduced from time to time under this Act; and (n) to establish, manage and administer centralised automated mechanisms allowing for the retrieval of data and information on any person holding or controlling payment or bank accounts or any person making use of safe custody services offered by credit institutions. (2) For the purpose of carrying out any of its functions under this Act or other regulations issued thereunder, the Unit shall have the power to impose fees and charges, including fees or charges to cover costs incurred by Unit in e ngaging any expert as envisage d in article 26A. (3) The Unit shall at least once a year prepare a report on its activities in general to the Mini ster and shall afford to the M inister facilities for obtaining information with respect to its proper ty and its activities in general and furnish him with returns, account s and other information with respect thereto. Liability for damages. Added by: XXXI. 2001.4.