| 26.10.2006 |
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| Amendment to the Prohibition on Money Laundering Order |
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| The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved yesterday an amendment to the Prohibition on Money Laundering Order, as submitted by the Governor of the Bank of Israel, and also approved Regulations on the Prohibition on Financing Terrorism, as submitted by the Minister of Finance. The order and regulations are an additional step in the legislation intended to combat financing of terrorism (CFT), while maintaining correspondent banking relationships with Palestinian banks. While the amendment to the order and the regulations impose on the banks an obligation to examine and report, as part of the war on financing terrorism, they are still exempted from criminal liability if, inter alia, they fulfill all their obligations under the order. |
| The amendment to the order and the regulations are the result of continued cooperation by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel, together with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, the security authorities and the Association of Banks in Israel. |
| The Prohibition on Money Laundering Order was expanded to cover the prohibition on financing terrorism, and now includes obligations to check the identification of parties to a transaction against declared terrorists and terrorist organizations as well as obligations of reporting by size and type of transaction; the minimum size of transaction that requires reporting was set at NIS 5,000 for transactions with a high risk country or territory. |
| The amendment to the order also imposed on credit card companies obligations to identify, report to IMPA and maintain registration, and included additional changes following the experience accumulated by the authorities and banks in implementing anti-money laundering and CFT provisions and enforcement. |
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