FOREWORD

Favex Technology Limited conducts business in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and is committed to assisting the fight against money laundering [ML] and terrorist financing [TF], by operating an effective risk-based approach.

By doing so, the company will seek to maintain compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. This policy actively manages risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, and through risk mitigants, aims to prevent, detect, and report suspicions of money laundering and terrorist financing.

PURPOSE

This policy sets out Favex Technology Limited principles and measures adopted to ensure that the firm adheres to applicable laws and regulatory requirements about combating money laundering, corruption, and terrorist financing. This document describes the degree of due diligence to be applied when establishing, managing, monitoring, and declassifying/terminating business relationships at the various stages of the client relationship lifespan.

This document requires that the firm complies with the following basic principles:

• We do not accept funds that we know or are expected to know, are proceeds of criminal activities.
• We do not enter or maintain business relationships with shell banks (a Financial Institution with no physical presence in any country).
• We must always determine the identity of a contracting party and beneficial owners in respect of a transaction.
• A risk-based approach is applied throughout clients’ relationship lifespan.
• We undertake additional investigations for business relationships and transactions with increased risks

For employees, the main objectives of this policy are to:

• Enhance awareness of all employees (especially those in higher-risk roles) of the money laundering and financing terrorism risks the business faces.
• Enable staff to follow a Risk-Based Approach in mitigating money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (FT) risks and provide reasonable assurance that the firm does not accept assets that it knows or should reasonably be expected to know are proceeds of crime.
• Ensure that the firm remains complaint with all relevant money laundering legislation and regulation.
• Define a framework for staff encountering suspicious activity, transactions, or behaviour to escalate/notify the Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO) or Compliance Dept.
• Retain the confidence of the Organization’s key stakeholders, including regulators and law enforcement agencies.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all businesses undertaken by the company where it is required to identify and undertake due diligence concerning clients’ relationships for anti-money laundering purposes. The policy applies to all employees of the firm and each member of staff must ensure they understand the personal roles and responsibilities resulting from this policy.

Non-adherence to any part of this policy may lead to disciplinary action, up to including dismissal. This policy does not intend to discourage any business area from engaging in activities that may be perceived as higher risk, but simply ensures that any such relationships can be engaged in a manner that safeguards the integrity and reputation of the financial industry and the firm.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• The Board: The Board will be responsible for ensuring the AML/CFT measures adopted by the company are sufficiently robust and adequate for the firm’s operations. The Board will also have the responsibility of ensuring that any staff involved in whistleblowing or making suspicious activity reports is protected from any form of victimization.
• Executive Management: The implementation and maintenance of an effective AML program that meets the firm’s objectives will primarily be the responsibility of Executive Management led by the CEO. The executive Management team must ensure adequate resources are made available for the implementation, review, and control of the AML/ KYC program, including the appointment of an AML/CFT Compliance Officer with the relevant competence, authority, and independence to undertake the institution’s AML/CFT compliance program.
• AML/CFT Compliance Officer The duties of the AML/CFT Compliance Officer, among others, will include:
  • Developing an AML/CFT Compliance manual.
  • Providing reports to the Board on issues of the Company’s AML/CFT program.
  • Receiving and vetting suspicious transaction reports from staff.
  • Filing suspicious transaction reports with the NFIU.
  • Rendering regulatory reports with the NFIU, where necessary, to ensure compliance.
  • Ensuring that the firm’s compliance program is implemented.
  • Coordinating the training of staff in AML/ CFT awareness, detection methods, and reporting requirements; and
  • Serving both as liaison officer with the SEC and NFIU and a point of contact for all employees on money laundering and terrorist financing issues.

THE AML POLICY

• The Policy: Favex Technology Limited's policy is to comply with all relevant Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Legislations and Regulations in Nigeria and International best practices.
  All staff are committed to the adherence to regulations and statutes in place, to prevent Financial Crime, Terrorism, and Money Laundering. To achieve this, the company will implement and adhere to the relevant regulations on AML and industry best practices.
• Regulatory Overview: As a business registered and regulated in Nigeria, the company is required to comply with two parallel regimes: the regulatory and legislative regimes.
  • Regulatory: The regulatory requirements as prescribed by the EFCC (Economic & Financial Crimes Act and Combating the Financing of Terrorism) Regulations, 2013 and Rules 9.12 & 9.13 of the NSE rulebook which aims to prevent and detect money laundering and to counterterrorism financing.
    The SEC regulations, 2013 relate to institutional liability generally and they require systems and procedures to be implemented to deter criminals from using financial institutions to launder money. The Policies and procedures to be established, and discussed later in the Manual, include
    • Customer due diligence (CDD) measures and ongoing monitoring.
    • Internal reporting.
    • Record-keeping procedures
    • Internal controls.
    • Risk assessment and management.
    • Compliance monitoring
    • Recognition of suspicious transactions and reporting procedures
    • Staff training programs
  • Legislative:The legislative requirements in the Money Laundering Prohibition (Amendment) Act (MLPA), 2012, The Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, and The Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 are the set of money laundering legislation applicable throughout Nigeria to the proceeds of all crimes.
    
    Within the legislation, there is a disclosure regime contained which makes it an offence for a f irm or an employee of the firm not to disclose knowledge or suspicion of proceeds of crime and money laundering. The list of crimes includes, but not limited to:
    • Participation in organized crime and racketeering.
    • Terrorism, including terrorist financing.
    • Trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling.
    • Sexual exploitation, including sexual exploitation of children.
    • Illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
    • Illicit arms trafficking.
    • Illicit trafficking in stolen and other goods.
    • Corruption and Bribery.
    • Fraud.
    • Counterfeiting currency.
    • Counterfeiting and piracy of products.
    • Environmental crime.
    • Murder, grievous bodily injury.
    • Kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage-taking.
    • Robbery or theft.
    • Smuggling.
    • Extortion.
    • Forgery.
    • Piracy; and
    • Insider trading and market manipulation.
  • Favex Technology Limited has the duty to:
    • Ensure transactions above the threshold of N5,000,000 for individuals and N10,000,000 for corporate persons, or the equivalent in any currency, are reported to the NFIU and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
    • Ensure a transfer of funds or securities to or from a foreign country of more than US$10,000 or its naira equivalent is reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and NFIU.

CLIENT/CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE MEASURES

• Who is our client? One of the most important ways in which money laundering can be prevented is by establishing the identity of clients prior to commencing a business relationship with them. So, we must identify who the underlying client/s is/are. You must Know Your Customer (KYC). In some complex arrangements you may wish to seek advice from the Money Laundering Compliance Officer, but generally, the relationship will be clear.
• Know your clients (KYC) requirements:
  • help the firm, at the time the client’s due diligence is carried out, to be reasonably satisfied that customers are who they say they are, to know whether they are acting on behalf of others, whether there are any government sanctions against serving the client.
  • assist law enforcement with information on customers or activities under investigation.
  The client must be identified as soon as reasonably practicable after first contact with us and then verified promptly. In most cases, we will obtain this information before processing a financial transaction.
  
  Where a client cannot be verified satisfactorily the matter must be brought to the attention of the Money Laundering Compliance Officer. The unwillingness of the client to undergo the due diligence process may be a factor for suspicion.

RECORD KEEPING

The money laundering Regulations require firms to retain records concerning Clients identification and transactions for use as evidence in any possible future investigation.

Our client on-boarding documents facilitate the establishment of the identity and verification of the Client and it is the firm’s policy to retain copies of such documents for six (6) years after the relationship with the Client has ended.

The full scope of records to be maintained should cover:

• Client information
• Transactions
• Internal and external suspicion reports
• Money Laundering Compliance Officer’s reports
• Evidence of Training and Compliance Monitoring

MEASURES TAKEN

In cases where Favex Technology suspects that a transaction is related to money laundering or other criminal activities, the company will act in accordance with applicable laws and report any suspicious activity to the regulatory authorities. Favex Technology Limited reserves the right to suspend any client operation considered illegal or potentially related to money laundering, at the discretion of its staff. The company also has the authority to temporarily block a suspicious client account or terminate an existing client relationship.