Anti Money Laundering Policies

Money laundering is the processing of criminal proceeds (cash and assets obtained from criminal activities) to disguise their illegal origin. It is a world-wide problem and governments have been taking major steps in recent years to combat it.

Money laundering has been treated as a very serious offence since the passing of the Criminal Justice Act in 1994. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts 2010 and 2013 update Irish anti-money laundering and terrorist financing legislation and bring it in line with the requirements of the third EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (2005/60/EC). Ireland will be required to transpose the fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (2015/849/EU) into Irish law.

Ireland is also obliged to implement certain recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) the international anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing body.

Section 7 of the Act defines a money laundering offence in terms of property that is the "proceeds of criminal conduct".

Money laundering offences are committed where a person knows or believes that (or is reckless as to whether or not) the property represents the proceeds of criminal conduct and the person is involved in:

• Concealing or disguising the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership of the property
• Converting, transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing or using the property or
• Removing the property from, or bringing the property into, the State

The Act places obligations on 'designated persons' to guard against their businesses being used for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes. As solicitors, Croskerrys is a 'designated person'. Designated persons must:

Apply customer due diligence (for example, identify customers or beneficial owners)

Report suspicious transactions to An Garda Síochána and Revenue and

Have specific procedures in place to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing

Law Society

As members of Law Society of Ireland, Croskerrys provides a service of the highest quality in line with all of the strict legal and regulatory obligations required by its professional body and it's staff are trained to comply strictly with Law Society anti-money laundering requirements.

Our partner Caroline McErlean is the firm's Anti-Money Laundering Officer.

Croskerrys offers a pre-legal and debt recovery service in the District, Circuit and high Courts. It does not offer other legal service in other fields such as conveyancing or company law, therefore there is no scope for our clients to engage in money laundering through our offices by the transfer of property or shares, for example.

Our business involves the collection of outstanding monies properly due on foot of bills, invoices and statements, in most cases these are supplied to us when we take instructions.

The Obligation to Identify the Client

We are obliged to obtain identification from the client and also to verify that identification with other documentation, such as a utility bill. We must copy and keep this documentation on file for a period of five years after the transaction has ended.

Our staff are trained to obtain the relevant information when taking on all new clients. We will seek a variety of information depending on the nature of the entity.

For a Private Company Limited by Shares, now known as a DAC, we will seek:

• A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation
• The Memorandum and Articles of Association
• A list of Directors with their home addresses and dates of birth

For an Individual or Sole Trader we will seek

• A copy of the appropriate photo identification (passport or driving licence)
• A copy utility bill not more than six months old showing the individual's home address

The Obligation to Report a Suspicious Transaction

In most dealings with Croskerrys, particularly if it involves court proceedings, the information given to us carries a very high level of confidentiality, known as 'privilege'. In other cases, not involving court proceedings, we will strictly observe your confidentiality even though it is not a privileged occasion. However, in certain limited circumstances, where Croskerrys suspects that the transaction involves the transfer of assets that are 'tainted' and represent the proceeds of criminal conduct, we have a legal obligation to report the matter to the Revenue Commissioners and the Garda Siochana. For this reason, clients should ensure to clarify the source of their assets with Croskerrys at an early opportunity, to allay any fears that the assets may be 'tainted'.