Manama: Lawyers, foreign legal offices and firms in Bahrain have been told to notify the follow-up and monitoring unit — the Interior Ministry’s Financial Investigation Directorate — about any suspicious or abnormal activities when conducting transactions on behalf of their clients, including real estate transactions, fund and asset management and all types of banking accounts.
An edict issued by the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa on Monday stipulates the commitment of lawyers and foreign legal firms to the measures on combating and prohibiting money laundering and terror funding.
The edict defines suspicious and abnormal activities as operations that are suspected to be linked, directly or indirectly, to crimes involving money-laundering and terror funding.
The edict is in line with the criteria set by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) against money laundering and terrorist financing as well as with UN conventions and agreements and UN Security Council resolutions.
Under the edict, lawyers’ offices, foreign legal offices and firms are required to verify the information provided by their clients as well people who request legal opinion regarding the powers of attorney, and provide the follow-up unit with any suspicious information.
The edict also makes it mandatory for licensed lawyers and foreign firms to open accounts for professional purposes in a bank accredited by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). All payments or funds collected from or on behalf of clients will have to be deposited in the bank.
Lawyers and foreign firms are also required to set up special e-records to register all their activities and legal opinions provided to customers, mentioning their names and data, subject of the power of attorney or legal opinion, the date of the service provided, the amount of money paid to the legal firm, the financial transaction serial number, the name of the bank and the date of the transfer.
