Anti-money laundering
Information on money laundering
Qred Bank AB ("Qred") is a bank regulated by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. Qred is therefore required to comply with the Swedish Act (2017: 630) on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (also known as the "Money Laundering Act"). On this page, we collect information on what money laundering entails, what the law requires and how it affects you as a Qred customer.
What is money laundering and terrorist financing?
Money laundering is the conversion of money from criminal activities with the aim of masking the illegal origin of the money. Money laundering can also mean trying to hide money earned from legal activities in an attempt to avoid taxes. Money laundering allows criminals to use illegal money without arousing suspicion.
Terrorist financing implies the financial support of terrorism. This can be done through direct donations, but also indirectly by collecting, providing or receiving money for terrorism purposes. It can be made possible through legally obtained money with the ultimate aim of financing terrorism, which is illegal.
Money laundering and terrorist financing pose a serious threat to our society. We at Qred take our responsibility to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing seriously and must therefore ask our customers certain questions.
Qred's obligation to ask questions
The requirements for customer knowledge are high under the current money laundering legislation. Qred is always obliged to obtain information about the customers and make a risk assessment of whether the services are used for money laundering or terrorist financing.
Both new and existing customers are covered by this knowledge requirement, as the information must always be kept up-to-date. Therefore, existing customers may be required to update their customer information from time to time.
The requirements for customer knowledge result in Qred being obliged to verify the identity of the customer, the identity of the beneficial owner, information about PEP and the purpose and nature of the transaction. Failure to answer the questions posed may result in us not being able to offer our services or having to terminate agreements with existing customers.
What is a PEP?
PEP is the abbreviation for Politically Exposed Person. PEP is a broad concept that includes persons who have or have had public duties or functions in the management of an international organisation, as well as that person's family and employees. By 'Politically Exposed Person' is meant:
- The Heads of State or Government, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
- Members of Parliament
- Member of the Board of a political parliamentary party
- Judge in a high-level legal organisation whose decisions are not subject to appeal
- Senior officers
- Senior officials in the audit authorities and members of the governing bodies of the central bank
- Ambassadors or diplomatic envoys
- Persons who are members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of state-owned enterprises
What is a "beneficial owner"?
A 'beneficial owner' is/are the person(s) who ultimately owns or controls a company or association, or for whom another person acts. A beneficial owner is therefore always a natural person (a human being in the legal sense, as someone who can be the bearer of rights and obligations).
Ownership, or control, of a company can take various forms, such as owning more than 25% of the shares in a company or having the right to appoint or dismiss more than half of the board members.
If a person together with related parties (spouse/cohabitant/registered partner, parents, children or the spouses/cohabitants/registered partner of the children) owns or controls a limited liability company, their control must be added up. For example, if two spouses each own 20% in a company, their share must be added together. Then the ownership share becomes 40% and both spouses are considered the ultimate beneficiaries of the business.
If there is no beneficial owner, the chairman of the board, CEO, trustee or responsible partner should be listed as the beneficial owner.
Why do we need to state the purpose of the transaction?
When you apply for a business loan, you need to answer questions about things like business operations, turnover and what the money will be used for. This is because Qred needs to understand the background of the transaction, what the money will be used for and where the money will come from when the loan is repaid.
In some cases, Qred may need to collect additional information from you, such as agreements, receipts, invoices or similar documents.