Anti Money Laundering Initiatives

Q&A

Why do we ask for a copy of identification/ID?

We are obliged to obtain identity information on our customers when the customer's case is covered by the Money Laundering Act. This can e.g., be in connection with us advising customers on the purchase and sale of real estate, company formations or other transactions or advice in this connection.

Natural persons:

If our customer is a private person, we are obliged to obtain the customer's name and social security number (or equivalent unique identification number). We must then check the identity information with an independent and reliable source, e.g., passport, driving licence, health card, birth certificate or similar.

We assess from case to case how much and which documentation, data or information we need in order for our control to meet the requirements of the law.

Why do we ask questions about financial conditions?

We are obliged to have knowledge of our customers and what our customers want to use us for.

The obligation implies that we must know why you, as a customer, want a customer relationship with us and what the customer relationship will entail. This information can be information about income conditions, any payments that must be conveyed, including to foreign countries or other transfers to our client account.

If our customers make transactions that are unusual for the customer's circumstances or ask for advice on unusual transactions, we are obliged to investigate this further and may also be obliged to inform the authorities.

Are you a PEP (Politically Exposed Person) or a close relative?

Politically exposed persons (PEPs) are persons who contest a special public position of trust. We ask if you are a PEP or a close/close business partner of a PEP, as we are obliged to carry out a stricter customer due diligence procedure when our customers are a PEP, closely related to a PEP or a close business partner of a PEP.

In Denmark, PEPs are:

• Ministers and heads of departments
• Members of the Danish Parliament and the EU Parliament
• Members of the executive committee or equivalent body in political parties represented in the Folketing
• Supreme Court judges and judges of international courts
• The management of Danmarks Nationalbank, the Danish auditor of public accounts and the Danish member of the European Court of Auditors
• The Chief of Defense, the Deputy Chief of Defense, Service Chiefs, ambassadors for Danish embassies
• The board of directors and the executive management in companies where the state owns 50% or more or in some other way has real control over the company, as well as directors in agencies and members of the board in agencies where this group of people has actual decision-making authority.
• Persons nominated, appointed or employed by the government, a ministry or a minister in an international organization established by the conclusion of a formal international political agreement.

You are related to PEP if you are:

• Spouse, registered partner or cohabitant

• Children and their spouses, registered partners or cohabitants

• Parents

to a person who falls within one of the above PEP categories.

You are a close partner of a PEP if you:

• Is the real owner of a company or other form of juristic person jointly with a PEP
• In another way have a close business relationship with a PEP, for example, trade over a longer period
• Is the only beneficial owner of a company or other form of juristic person, that solely is created for the benefit of a PEP.

Companies, associations, etc. – juristic persons

If our customer is a juristic person, e.g. company, association, etc., we are obliged to obtain information about the company, including clarifying the company's ownership and control structure. This is done, for Danish companies, most often by a signature from the CVR.

In addition, we are obliged to obtain the name and social security number (or equivalent unique identification number) of either the customer's real owners, day-to-day management or board of directors and to check the identity information with an independent and reliable source, e.g., passport, driving licence, health card, birth certificate or the like. See more under this FAQ's section about natural persons.

We are obliged to make a concrete assessment from case to case, including how much and which documentation, data or information we need, so that our control meets the applicable requirements.

Who in the company do we need a copy of identification/ID on?

We must obtain a copy of the identity card/ID of the company's real owners. If the company has no real owners, it is the company's day-to-day management that we must obtain identification from. The day-to-day management will basically be the registered director(s). If the company does not have day-to-day management, we must obtain identification from the company's board of directors.

Is someone in the company's management a PEP (Politically Exposed Person)?

Under the section ‘natural persons’ in this FAQ, you can see what a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is and why we ask about this.

A company cannot be a PEP, but we are obliged to investigate whether there is a PEP in the relevant circle of people, as this may affect the overall risk assessment that we are obliged to make of the customer relationship.

In general

Can we request a copy of the credentials?

We are obliged to keep a copy of the documentation for our customers' identity information and any additional information we may have obtained. We must be able to document to the Bar Association, which supervises law firms, that we have completed a customer due diligence procedure. We are also obliged to store information, documents, etc. for 5 years from the end of the customer relationship or the completion of the transaction/case.

 

We cannot accept identification or documentation that one of our employees or partners is related to or has known our customers for a long time or privately.

 

Why are we asking for credentials again?

We have a duty to continuously update our knowledge of our customers by obtaining new information and documentation. It can, for example, be if the scope or character of the advice we provide to the customer changes or if we become aware that the information previously obtained is incorrect or insufficient.

What happens if the customer does not hand over the information to us?

If our customer does not want to hand over the necessary credentials, we are obliged to terminate the customer relationship and therefore we cannot provide further advice or assist with the case.

In addition, in these cases, we will be obliged to assess whether a report must be made to the authorities.

Does LES have reporting obligations?

We are obliged to monitor our customers' transactions and activities related to Lund Elmer Sandager. This monitoring is done in relation to investigating whether there may be suspicions that the transactions and activities may be linked to money laundering or the financing of terrorism.

If we, contrary to expectations, come across a suspicious transaction, we must investigate this further, e.g., by contacting the customer and receiving further information. If, in our investigation, we cannot confirm that there is a suspicious transaction, we are obliged to make a report to the authorities.

LES has a duty of confidentiality regarding any reports we make and must not inform our customers or other parties about this.

How do you submit credentials?

You can send credentials by email. We can receive encrypted mail, including "secure mail", and all mail sent from Lund Elmer Sandager is encrypted with a minimum of TLS encryption (Transport Layer Security).

If you are in doubt as to whether your email is encrypted when you send information to us, you can upload the credentials via a secure link. In this case, you must ask your contact person at Lund Elmer Sandager to forward this link to you.

How do we process your personal data?

You can read more about Lund Elmer Sandager's processing of personal data in our personal data policy on our website. You will find it here.

We may be obliged to pass on personal data to the Anti-Money Laundering Secretariat in connection with a report.