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AML CTF Risk Assessment Free Template
AML CTF Risk Assessment Free Template
[Describe this document and its purpose. For example, ‘AML/CTF Risk Assessment was
adopted on _____ by the governing body. The nominated officer responsible for
reviewing this AML/CTF Risk Assessment is _____.
The purpose of this document is to identify and record the likelihood of our business
being exploited for money laundering or terror financing purposes. Furthermore, we
evaluate the protective measures we've established to counteract these threats,
gauging their effectiveness. We also outline the continuous monitoring process for this
risk assessment, drawing insights from the firm's operational data. The scope of this
assessment encompasses all operational aspects of our services, ranging from client
onboarding to funds transfer mechanisms, and includes all jurisdictions in which we
operate…’]
Explanation:
The information about this document serves to articulate why you are conducting the risk
assessment – in this case, to understand vulnerabilities to ML and TF. The scope, meanwhile,
defines the boundaries of your assessment – what it will cover and what it will not. For
instance, are you focusing on certain products or the entire suite? Are you covering only
domestic operations, or international ones as well? Clearly defining the scope ensures
stakeholders understand the parameters of your findings.
2 Firm Details
[Sample:
‘Legal Name: XYZ Payment Solutions Limited
Trading Name: XYZ Pay
Registration Details: Registered in [Country], Company Number: 12345678,
Registered Address: 123 Street, City, Country.
Authorisation Details: Authorised Payment Institution
FRN: 1231421’]
[This section should clearly state what services are offered. It can be either as stated in
the legislation or as codified within the firm and accepted as products by operations.
For example:
List and briefly describe all the financial services the firm offers related to payments and e-
money. This provides context about the company's operations and can help the reader
understand potential risk areas, as some services might inherently carry higher risks than
others.
[It is imperative to outline all countries to which the firm has nexus, as well as to
explain what is the standing of the firm, i.e. whether it is a group policy or not. For
example:
1. Country A (Headquarters)
2. Country B (Subsidiary)
Explanation:
Clearly state each jurisdiction or country where the firm has a presence or offers its services.
Including additional notes, such as where the company's headquarters is located or where
there might be a special arrangement like a joint venture, provides more depth and context
about the firm's international engagements and possible risk exposure.
[The AML/CTF Risk Assessment should be based on at least the national risk
assessment, legislation applicable to the conduct of the firm (e.g. payment and/or
electronic money regulations, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing
regulations, etc.), relevant regulatory guidance (e.g. HMRC, FCA, JMLSG, etc. depending
on the jurisdiction), guidance from the industry bodies (e.g. FATF, Transparency
International, etc. depending on the jurisdiction), etc. and all of them should be listed
within the document as those sources that were taken into account whenever
preparing the document.]
Explanation:
Aim of regulatory and legal considerations is to outline the basis and guidance taken into
account when preparing this document. Please note that in different jurisdictions there may
be different prescribed guidance and legislation.
‘Our assessment identified potential high risks associated with our online fund transfer
mechanism, especially for cross-border transactions involving countries listed in the
FATF grey list. Additionally, we found medium risks in our customer due diligence
processes for corporate clients, and low risks in our closed-loop transaction services...’]
Explanation:
The summary of key findings provides stakeholders with a quick snapshot of the most
pressing vulnerabilities or risk areas. Ideally, these should be categorised based on severity,
allowing the reader to immediately gauge where the most attention may be needed. Also,
this could be illustrated in a table with the risk-coloured evaluation to give immediate visual
feedback. Be concise, but provide enough detail to give context – e.g., specifying that risks
are tied to FATF grey-listed countries rather than making a general statement about
international transactions.
Explanation:
This section should provide a clear picture of the procedures, techniques, or tools used to
identify risks. Whether you're analysing transaction data, speaking with department heads,
or comparing against industry standards, the methodology should be rigorous and
comprehensive. The goal is to ensure stakeholders understand the depth and breadth of the
research and assessment.
‘Likelihood Evaluation:
Impact Evaluation:
Impact considers the potential consequences or damage an event might cause. We
categorise impact based on financial loss, reputational damage, and regulatory
implications:
1. Low Risk: This is the least severe risk level. It indicates that the potential risk is
minimal and its occurrence is unlikely. Such risks often require minimal controls
or mitigation efforts.
2. Medium Risk: These risks can have a moderate impact on the firm and their
likelihood of occurrence is neither rare nor common. These risks require more
attention and management effort, and often involve a balanced approach
between accepting, avoiding, or mitigating the risk.
3. High Risk: High-level risks are those that can significantly disrupt the firm’s
operations, profitability, or reputation. They are more likely to occur than lower-
4. Prohibited Risk: This level indicates risks that the organization is not willing to
accept under any circumstances. They are generally associated with illegal
activities or actions that violate the firm’s policies, regulations, or values. These
risks are to be completely avoided and strong measures are taken to ensure
these do not occur.
‘]
Explanation:
The risk rating criteria provide a benchmark against which identified risks can be evaluated.
This allows for the prioritisation of risks based on their potential severity and likelihood. The
combination of likelihood and impact provides a matrix-style approach to risk rating. For
instance, a risk event that's "Almost Certain" to occur but has only "Minor" impact might still
be categorised as a "Medium Risk" because of its frequency. Similarly, a "Rare" event with
"Catastrophic" consequences could be categorised as "High Risk" due to its severe
implications, even if its likelihood is low. Apart from the above, any other risk evaluation
manner could be utilised but the main point is that it should be precise enough to
substantiate further decision-making related to the risk management.
6 Risk Assessment:
[Risk assessment should describe what types of risks the firm is exposed to, this
includes the ones that emanate from the products or services offered, geographies
served, etc. This must be done whilst outlining the inherent risk and reviewing what
Explanation:
It is worth referring to the national risk assessment whenever evaluating industry risk,
moreover, reference could be made to other authoritative sources such as FCA’s Dear CEO
Letters, EBA’s opinions, etc. This is needed to show that consideration of the local regulators
towards the risks posed by the sector of the institution was taken into consideration and
evaluated as per market standards.
Inherent Risks: The firm considers that the likelihood is possible and the
impact of this service is major, hence the overall inherent risk level is High Risk.
Prepaid Electronic Wallets: Without strong Know Your Customer (KYC) measures,
these wallets can be used anonymously, increasing the risk of them being used for
illicit activities.
Inherent Risks: The firm considers that the likelihood is possible and the
impact of this service is major, hence the overall inherent risk level is high…’]
Explanation:
For each product or service offered by the company, there should be a concise description
followed by a breakdown of associated ML/TF risks. Moreover, if the firm already has some
statistics as to the actual use of the aforementioned service or product it should be outlined
here as well. Recognising these risks helps in designing controls to mitigate them and
further allows to consider and outline what is actually being done by the firm to reduce
such.
Explanation:
This section should list all countries the firm operates in and services. Highlight countries
are known for weak AML/CTF regulations or other significant risk factors, often guided by
sources like the FATF's grey and blacklists or those identified by European Commission as
having strategic deficiencies, etc. also, it could provide an overview of the countries that are
prohibited and the exact source of the considerations why, e.g. North Korea and Russia and
sanctions that are placed on them. Further, it could indicate which countries are accepted as
though presenting high risk but those which are essential because, for example, of the
business model of the firm.
Individuals
Corporates
High-Risk Customers:
The firm recognises that there are severe risks related to high-risk customers,
although, there is an almost negligible number of those and during the year there
were only …. onboarded and as such it is unlikely that it will occur. Therefore, the
inherent risks related to high-risk customers is high and to mitigate them the firm has
designed and implemented…’]
Explanation:
Detail the different customer segments serviced. Highlight any segment that inherently
carries higher risks. PEPs, for example, often need enhanced due diligence because of their
position and potential influence. This evaluation must always outline what risk mitigation is
taken and what residual risks are there remaining. You can go even further than that and
break down the classification of each client type and assign different risk levels based on
Face-to-face,
Online platform,
Mobile app
High-Risk Channels:
…The firm recognises that we are subject to residual impersonation risks that arise as a
consequence of remote non-face-to-face identifications since most of our customers
are verified in that manner. The likelihood of such is likely, although the occurrences of
them passing is minor so the overall inherent risk score is medium…’]
Explanation:
Different delivery channels come with varying degrees of risk. Face-to-face usually presents
less risk than non-face-to-face channels. Emphasise channels that lack strong authentication
or validation methods.
The reliance on the third parties for AML purposes presents a catastrophic impact and
they have a possible occurrence which translates to prohibited inherent risks. As such,
this cannot be left without any controls mitigating… The firm has implemented robust
third-party screening procedures which … thus bringing the residual risk rating to
medium risk…’]
Explanation:
If the firm outsources certain processes, like KYC checks, these relationships need to be
examined for risk. Third-party vendors might not have adequate controls and such
outsourcing should be evaluated. Recognising these helps in defining the supervision that is
required. Moreover, the above example clearly states that in certain instances there may be
prohibited inherent risk which will require implementing measures to bring this in line with
the acceptable risk level.
The initial steps are carried out by the analyst who further refers this to the…
Additional financial background checks for PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) and
customers from high-risk jurisdictions and industries...’]
Explanation:
Detail your company's protocols for ensuring customer identity and assessing their potential
risk. Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) measures should be described for high-risk clients,
detailing extra steps or checks beyond the standard procedure.
Explanation:
Provide insights into the systems or processes in place for monitoring transactions and
clients on an ongoing basis.
Explanation:
All customer and transaction data stored securely on the company's encrypted
cloud servers...
All communications of firm are carried out through … and retained for a period
of minimum 5 years…
…
Retention Policy:
…’]
Explanation:
Describe the mechanisms for storing sensitive data and the policies dictating how long this
information is held. It's essential to comply with both data protection and AML regulatory
requirements and to keep a track record.
…
Audits:
Reporting Structure:
…’]
Explanation:
Lay out the internal governance structure that ensures adherence to AML/CTF obligations.
Discuss the role and responsibilities of key personnel, especially the MLRO, and how
frequently the policies and controls are reviewed.
[Apart from the above there is other information and controls that could be detailed in
this chapter, this includes, both the practical measures in place and the underlying
philosophy guiding those measures. This in-depth approach should enable regulators,
auditors, and other stakeholders to gain a clear understanding of the firm's efforts to
prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.]
8 Action Plan
[The action plan section should outline specific measures to address the identified gaps
or those areas which remained with insufficient mitigation measures as per section 6.
It provides a clear roadmap for enhancing the firm's AML/CTF controls and ensures
accountability and timely execution.
1. Identified Risk Gap: Outline the specific risk gaps that were identified during the
risk assessment.
2. Proposed Actions: Detail the specific measures that will be taken to close these
gaps together with responsible people and key milestones.
‘The firm has identified the following areas as those of concern and requiring directed
action:
Explanation:
This section should provide a thorough and systematic overview of the gaps identified in the
risk assessment and the corresponding steps that the firm plans to take to address these
gaps. The actions should be concrete, achievable, and directly related to the identified
issues.
Present a summary of the overall risk rating derived from the assessment.
Highlight the categories of risk and the corresponding ratings (Low, Medium,
High, Prohibited, etc.).
‘Overall Risk Rating of the firm is Medium. This is based on the considerations… and …
having in mind that…
Geographical Risk:
The following countries are presenting a high risk to the firm: UAE, Nigeria, …
The following countries are presenting a prohibited risk to the firm: Russia, ...
Explanation:
This section synthesises the findings from the risk assessment, summarising the risk levels
for various categories and providing an overall risk rating. It allows readers to quickly grasp
the main outcomes of the risk assessment and understand where the firm stands in terms of
AML/CTF risks.
Explanation:
This part of the section provides a formal record of the approval of the risk assessment by
the responsible senior management or board members. It is a critical step that
demonstrates the firm's commitment to the risk assessment and the actions outlined
therein.