AML/CTF and KYC Policy Policy on anti-money laundering AML (anti-money laundering policy)
Updated on: 27.05.2022.
This AML Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Policy) regulates the activities of Xmlgold.is, regarding anti-money laundering and its involvement in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
1. Terms and Definitions
Xmlgold.is is a trademark of the system which provides users the opportunity to exchange digital and electronic currencies.
Service - the system of providing internet services for the exchange, sale and purchase of digital and/or electronic currencies.
User is any natural person using the Xmlgold.is service.
Digital Currency - Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and any other blockchain-based currencies.
E-currency - funds held in the accounts of users of electronic payment systems.
Service - assistance in p2p transactions between individuals in buying, selling and exchanging digital currencies, as well as other services, information about which is placed on the Service's showcase.
Money laundering - giving a legal appearance to the possession, use or disposal of money or other property obtained as a result of committing a crime. Xmlgold.is strictly adheres to laws prohibiting us or any of our employees from knowingly engaging or attempting to engage in any money laundering activity. Our anti-money laundering policy is aimed at improving the security of our customers and the services provided by the Service.
Terrorist financing is the deliberate provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds with the intention that those funds will be used, or on the condition that they will be used, to carry out acts of terrorism.
2. Measures taken to comply with the AML Policy
The Xmlgold.is administration, realising the social danger of money laundering and terrorist financing offences, has developed a set of organisational and legal measures in order to comply with national legislation as well as the requirements of the intergovernmental organisation FATF. The European AML regulation is based on a number of legislative directives. Namely, the EU issued the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD), which entered into force on 02 December 2018.
Other pieces of legislation aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing are the following acts:
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002;
The Terrorism Acts of 2000 and 2001;
The Anti-Terrorism Act 2008;
Treasury sanctions notices;
- Application of KYC (know your customer) policy. Mandatory identification of Users who are allowed to carry out transactions on our Service. To verify the User, the Administration has the right to request the following data:
- take a photo ("selfie") with a citizen's identity document: a scan of the front and back sides of an official photo ID, i.e. a valid passport, driving licence or other national identity card;
- proof of residence: an official document issued within the last 3 months, clearly indicating the name and address of the customer as given when registering at Xmlgold.is. It may be a utility bill (water, electricity or landline phone) or a bank statement. The copy must include: full name, full address, date of issue (within the last 3 months), name of issuing authority with official logo or seal;
- provide a copy of the front and back of your bank card and/or a photo of your bank card taken against the background of the Service homepage (service showcase). Only the last 4 digits of your credit card must be visible to ensure confidentiality and security. It is allowed to hide the 3 digits on the back of your card (CVV code).
The administration of the Xmlgold.is service will take steps to verify the authenticity of the documents and information provided by the Users. Identification information will be verified through secondary sources and the Administration of the service reserves the right to investigate cases to get full assurance of the authenticity of the documentation provided.
The Administration of the service Xmlgold.is reserves the right to monitor the data of the User on an ongoing basis, especially in cases where the identification information has been changed or the activity of the User seems suspicious (unusual for a particular User). Furthermore, the Administration reserves the right to ask Users for up-to-date documents, even if they have been authenticated in the past.
- To carry out continuous monitoring of the transactions taking place through the Service. We carry out constant monitoring of all the applications created on the website Xmlgold.is. The Service Administration notifies Users about the prohibition of exchange transactions from third parties using their account.
- Designating a responsible person (MLRO - Money Laundering Reporting Officer), who exercises control and supervisory authority over the implementation of the provisions of this Policy.
- Applying a Risk-Based Approach (RBA). We implement different levels of verification, depending on the volume and number of transactions performed by Users.
- Increasing the professional skills and knowledge of Xmlgold.is team in complying with the requirements of the Policy.
- Interacting with state authorities in cases specified by law. In case of an official request from the law enforcement or judicial authorities, we will be required to provide them with the requested information. Also the Service Administration is entitled to provide the data requested by the official representatives of the payment systems.
- Increasing the security of the software of the Xmlgold.is service. We care about the safety and security of your transactions. For this reason we are constantly improving our IT-department, the main task of which is to protect the website from unauthorized access by intruders.
- The Xmlgold.is Service Administration, in cases prescribed by law, may require a regulatory requirement to verify the source of fiat money and/or cryptocurrencies, to verify that the sources of the Funds the Customer uses for exchange are legitimate. A bank statement for fiat money or a video showing details of a wallet transaction for cryptocurrencies can be used as proof of the source of the Funds.
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In accordance with this Policy, the Service Administration will:
- Monitor all transactions. The Administration reserves the right to ensure that reports of suspicious transactions are passed on to the appropriate law enforcement authorities through the Responsible Officer;
- Request any additional information and documents from the User in case they carry out any suspicious transactions at the request of a regulator (the regulator may be an exchange, a governmental agency, or any other institution having the appropriate legal grounds);
- Suspend or terminate the User's account if there is reasonable suspicion that the User is engaging in illegal activity.
- However, the above list is not exhaustive and the Responsible Officer will monitor User transactions on a daily basis to determine whether such transactions should be reported and treated as suspicious or should be considered bona fide.
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Country of Residence. This Policy sets out our risk criteria in relation to AML/CTF. To mitigate this risk, the Xmlgold.is Service Administration does not accept customers who reside in the following countries with elevated risk criteria:
- Sources used for categorisation:
- Transparency International;
- Know Your Country;
- FATF list of high-risk jurisdictions;
- EU list of high-risk jurisdictions;
- Countries where digital assets are banned or restricted;
- Countries where digital assets are not prohibited;
- Countries subject to the UN Security Council sanctions regime.
Any customers from these countries will be refused service and any funds will be returned to the source.
- Full list of banned jurisdictions:
- USA
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Angola
- Algeria
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Burma
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Congo
- Conakry
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Crimea (Ukraine)
- Cuba
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ghana
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Guyana
- Iran
- Iraq
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mali
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Northern Macedonia
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
- Jamaica
- Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) / Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)
- Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic
- Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
- Republic of Abkhazia
- The Republic of Somaliland
- Republic of South Ossetia
- Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
- Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Passports issued by the Russian Federation in Crimea and those issued to residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine are not subject to verification
- Republic of Kosovo
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Republic of Artsakh
- Sources used for categorisation:
KYT policy (Know Your Transaction)
Updated on: 27.05.2022.
The KYT (Know Your Transaction) policy is aimed at identifying the Transaction Client in the event of a precedent where the Service has reasonable suspicion that the Client is not using Xmlgold.is for its intended purpose.
Such precedent may arise if the Service suspects the Customer of engaging in illegal activities that may qualify as laundering or attempting to launder illegally obtained digital assets or the funds are of frankly criminal origin. For these purposes, the Service may use any legal information, third-party means of analysing the origin of digital assets, as well as the Screening System's own developments. Any content of high-risk assets as a result of the screening may give rise to suspicion.
In this case, the Xmlgold.is Service reserves the full right to:
- Require the Customer to provide additional information disclosing the origin of the digital assets and/or to confirm that the assets have not been obtained by criminal means;
- Block the account and any transactions connected with the Customer, transfer all available information and documents about the incident to the financial and/or law enforcement authorities at the place of registration of the Service and, if necessary, at the Customer's registration address;
- Request from the Customer the documents confirming his/her identity, physical existence, registration address, solvency;
- To carry out the return of digital assets only to the account from which the transfer was made or to other accounts, after full verification by the Service's security service, if the Customer's legal origin of funds has been verified;
- Refuse the Customer to withdraw funds to a third party account without explaining the reason;
- Withhold funds from the Customer until the incident is fully investigated;
- The Service reserves the right to monitor the entire transaction chain in order to identify suspicious transactions;
- The Service reserves the right to refuse to provide the service to the Customer if the Service has reasonable suspicions on the legality of the origin of the digital assets, and to withhold the funds in special accounts of the Service;
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The Service reserves the right to refuse to provide services to the Customer if the Service has reasonable suspicion of the legality of the origin of digital assets and to withhold funds on special accounts of the Service, in case it is impossible to trace the entire chain of movement of digital assets from the moment of their appearance.
Terms and conditions for the refund of funds stopped for verification following AML analysis of the transaction:- Refunds are made after a full verification by the Service's security service, which may include detailed verification of the sender. The refund will be made minus a commission of up to 5% of the transaction amount to cover the labour costs of processing the request and arranging the refund.
- The refund, subject to the Service's approval, will be processed by the Service within 7 (seven) calendar days from the date when the User has been notified of the Service's decision regarding their refund request.
- When processing the refund, after verification, the user is obliged to confirm the details to receive the refund.