| Today the Supervisor of Banks published an update of the arrangement regarding the opening of bank accounts by those seeking asylum in Israel, under the authority granted by the Prohibition on Money Laundering Order. |
| The updated arrangement published today is intended to enable asylum seekers and those granted temporary humanitarian protection to open a bank account. According to the arrangement, the identification and verification process the bank must follow and the documentation required when opening an account and the procedure as set out in the Prohibition on Money Laundering Order will be based on permits issued by the Ministry of the Interior for asylum seekers and those granted temporary humanitarian protection. |
| On September 25, 2007 the Supervisor set out an arrangement for opening a bank account for those seeking asylum in Israel, based on the certificates issued by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. That arrangement enabled asylum seekers, who generally were not in possession of passports of their country of origin, to open a bank account and to make deposits and withdraw money from it legally. |
| Following the transfer of the responsibility for handling asylum seekers from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to the Ministry of the Interior, the Commission stopped issuing certificates for asylum seekers, and the need arose to amend the existing arrangement to relate to the permits issued by the Ministry of the Interior. |
| This amended arrangement solves the problem faced by asylum seekers who were unable to open a bank account since the United Nations High Commission for Refugees stopped issuing certificates for them, while maintaining proper risk management regarding the Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence requirement under the Prohibition on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. |