AXA MPS Financial Limited, the Dublin based international life assurance company, has been reprimanded by the Central Bank and fined € 50,000 for two breaches of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. The sanctions imposed reflect the "seriousness" which the Central Bank views breaches of the CJA 2010.

The financial services institution was found to have breached the Act on two occasions. Between July 15th 2010 and March 2011 it was found to be in breach of its customer due diligence requirements under sections 33 and 35(1), concerning the identification and verification of customers and beneficial owners. The breach occurred because of AXA’s reliance on a third party to carry out its customer due diligence requirements when it was not eligible to do so.

In addition, over the 18 months between July 15th 2010 and January 31st 2012, AXA was in breach of section 37, which required it to take steps to determine whether a customer was a politically exposed person.

The breaches were identified by the firm and voluntarily reported to the Central Bank in March 2011.

According to the director of enforcement at the Central Bank, Derville Rowland, the settlement is the third such by the Central Bank for a breach of the aforementioned act in the last 18 months.

“This area has repeatedly been identified as an enforcement priority throughout 2012 and 2013. The Central Bank expects that all firms that are subject to its oversight manage their business processes to ensure compliance with the Criminal Justice Act 2010 and importantly to be in a position to demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of this law,” she said, adding that Ireland, as a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has committed to ensuring that a robust framework is in place to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to protect the financial system from threats to its integrity.

The matter is now closed.