Expanded Legal Scope and Definitions

The New AML Law significantly broadens the scope of regulated activity and introduces several key definitional changes that extend criminal and compliance obligations alike, in particular:

• Inclusion of Proliferation Financing: For the first time, the title of the legislation explicitly includes Countering Proliferation Financing, replacing the earlier reference to illegal organisations. This change reflects a deliberate policy shift: the law now introduces standalone offences for financing the proliferation of arms and weapons of mass destruction, supported by new statutory definitions.

• Expanded Predicate Offences: The concept of a Predicate Offence has been clarified to expressly include tax evasion (both direct and indirect), widening the base of underlying crimes from which illicit proceeds may originate.

• Digital and Virtual Assets: Recognising the rapid growth of digital finance, the law now provides that money laundering and terrorist financing offences can be committed through digital systems, virtual assets, or encryption technologies language that did not appear in the 2018 law.

• Refined Definition of Proceeds: The definition of Proceeds has been expanded to capture recurring or derivative benefits not only profits but also any other advantage derived from criminal property closing potential loopholes on indirect gains.

• Clarified Knowledge Standard: A person may now be held liable not only if they knew that funds originated from criminal conduct but also if they should reasonably have known, introducing a lower threshold of awareness similar to negligence based standards seen in other jurisdictions.

• Inclusion of Proliferation Financing: For the first time, the title of the legislation explicitly includes Countering Proliferation Financing, replacing the earlier reference to illegal organisations. This change reflects a deliberate policy shift: the law now introduces standalone offences for financing the proliferation of arms and weapons of mass destruction, supported by new statutory definitions.

• Expanded Predicate Offences: The concept of a Predicate Offence has been clarified to expressly include tax evasion (both direct and indirect), widening the base of underlying crimes from which illicit proceeds may originate.

• Digital and Virtual Assets: Recognising the rapid growth of digital finance, the law now provides that money laundering and terrorist financing offences can be committed through digital systems, virtual assets, or encryption technologies language that did not appear in the 2018 law.

• Refined Definition of Proceeds: The definition of Proceeds has been expanded to capture recurring or derivative benefits not only profits but also any other advantage derived from criminal property closing potential loopholes on indirect gains.

• Clarified Knowledge Standard: A person may now be held liable not only if they knew that funds originated from criminal conduct but also if they should reasonably have known, introducing a lower threshold of awareness similar to negligence based standards seen in other jurisdictions.