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9.1 Obligations and Timeframe for the Retention and Availability of Records

Effective from 13/7/2023

(AML-CFT Law Articles 16.1(a),(f); AML-CFT Decision Articles 7.2, 24, 36, 37.3)

FIs are obliged to maintain detailed records, documents, data and statistics for all transactions, all records obtained through CDD measures, account files and business correspondence, and results of any analysis undertaken, as well as a variety of record types and documents associated with their ML/FT risk assessment and mitigation measures, as specified in the relevant provisions of the AML-CFT Decision (see Section 9.2, Required Record Types). FIs are required to maintain the records in an organized fashion so as to permit data analysis and the tracking of financial transactions, and to make the records available to the Competent Authorities immediately upon request. They should be sufficient to permit reconstruction of individual transactions so as to provide, if necessary, evidence for prosecution of criminal activity. All CDD information and transaction records should be available swiftly to Competent Authorities upon appropriate authority.

The statutory retention period for all records is at least five (5) years, depending on the circumstances, from the date of the most recent of any of the following events:

•Termination of the Business Relationship or the closing of a customer’s account with the FI;
 
•Completion of an occasional transaction (in respect of a customer with whom no Business Relationship is established);
 
•Completion of an inspection of the records by the Supervisory Authorities;
 
•The issue date of a final judgment by the competent judicial authorities;
 
•Liquidation, dissolution, or other form of termination of a legal person or arrangement.
 

Without prejudice to the above, FIs should note that it is the prerogative of the Competent Authorities to require the retention of the records of any FI, whether data, statistics, or records pertaining to a specific customer or transaction or to general categories of customers or transactions which they deemed to be of interest, for a longer period of time at their own discretion.

In order to fulfil their record-keeping obligations, and commensurate with the nature and size of their businesses, FIs should determine the appropriate policies, procedures and controls related to the adequate retention, organisation, and maintenance of records. The policies, procedures and controls should be documented, approved by senior management, and communicated to appropriate levels of the organisation. Examples of the factors which FIs should give consideration to when formulating the relevant policies, procedures and controls, include but are not limited to:

•Organisational roles and responsibilities in regard to the ML/TF business risk assessment, implementation, review and updating of AML/CFT policies, procedures and controls related to record-keeping and data protection, including appropriate business contingency and escalation procedures;
 
•Organisational roles and responsibilities in relation to record-keeping (including logging, cataloguing and organisation, archiving, handling and transferring of records and documents, as well as of the destruction of expired records) of CDD information and transactions;
 
•Physical and cyber security, and the protection of active and archived data and records from unauthorised access;
 
•Appropriate audit and quality assurance testing policies.