AMIS Conclusion takes another step in combating money laundering and terrorism by improving access to UBO data
News
AMIS Conclusion has reached a new milestone in the fight against money laundering and terrorism. By integrating the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) Business Register into the existing CIS UBO application, AMIS Conclusion has added another source of information to help detect money laundering and terrorism.
A breakthrough in access to UBO data
At the end of June 2023, AMIS Conclusion celebrated the delivery of phase one of the new CIS UBO application. UBO stands for ‘Ultimate Beneficial Owner’: the person who ultimately owns or controls a company, entity or organisation. The register aims to increase transparency about companies’ ultimate owners, helping combat financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
For AMIS Conclusion’s CIS DevOps team, this marks another milestone in making UBO data accessible. The new web application gives Stichting CIS participants a comprehensive view of the individuals associated with a company, drawing on multiple data sources. Although the application is directly connected to the KVK UBO Register, it is not yet possible to retrieve the latest data. Previously, UBOs could be identified through a direct connection to KVK. However, at the request of the Ministry of Finance, access to the register was closed in November 2022 because of privacy concerns surrounding access to personal data. The new application uses Stichting CIS’s UBO database, in which UBOs are identified using best practices from data provider GraydonCreditsafe.
Real-time KVK connection and compliance screening
The application also provides a real-time connection to the KVK Business Register to retrieve the latest details relating to UBOs within a company who have not yet been identified. It also enables CIS participants to screen both the company being investigated and its parent companies, including identified individuals such as UBOs and directors, using the CIS Compliancy Check application. This screening covers several sanctions lists, including those listing individuals known to be involved in terrorism: the Dutch national sanctions list and the EU, UN and OFAC lists. This enables CIS participants to comply with the Dutch Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft) and sanctions legislation (SW), as required by De Nederlandsche Bank.
UBO application offers more real-time data and a better user experience
The delivery of the first phase of the new UBO application is a major step forward, particularly for CIS participants. They now receive more real-time data because the Business Register responds directly to UBO queries. Working alongside the CIS DevOps core team, a dedicated Scrum team developed a new web interface in four months. Built using modern technologies such as microservices and Angular, the interface offers a more intuitive and user-friendly experience than the previous UBO application.
Naturally, this milestone called for cake! Pictured are Michiel Ruland, Emmy Hermans, Micha Kurvers and Timothy Alkemade. Unfortunately, Sarah el Haouari and Ruben de Wilde were unable to attend.
