Bank Obligations at the Time of Establishing Any “Relationship” (Customer Due Diligence)
Legislative Decree No. 231 of November 21, 2007, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 90 of May 25, 2017 and subsequent amendments (hereinafter, the “Decree”), as well as Legislative Decree No. 109/07 and its amendments, have introduced requirements for the actions (“customer due diligence”, “monitoring”, “assessment”, and “reporting”) that banks must carry out in order to prevent the unlawful use of the financial and economic system (also referred to as AML Provisions).
Money laundering can be summarized by the administrative legal definition that qualifies the behavior of an individual who carries out acts and/or attempts to conceal the origin of funds generated in violation of regulations (including tax evasion); this definition also includes anti-terrorism provisions that prohibit the opening of relationships and/or execution of transactions with subjects listed as “designated terrorists.”
Banks—including foreign bank branches such as ICBC (Europe) S.A. Milan Branch—are therefore required, as a preventative measure before establishing any relationship and also (during the relationship) before carrying out certain transactions (whether in-relationship or out-of-relationship/cash-based), to carry out a “customer due diligence” procedure in order to collect all information, data and/or documents from the client required by law and also to conduct adequacy checks (AML Data).
These requirements translate into a specific obligation for the customer to respond in writing, and into a specific duty of the Bank to refrain from establishing “relationships” and/or conducting “transactions” unless an assessment of the AML Data has been positively carried out.
The Bank–Client relationship is therefore based on increased mutual “transparency,” which consists in the necessity to establish relationships and carry out transactions consistent with the AML Data, as well as in the monthly reports that each financial intermediary must submit to supervisory authorities and/or make available to tax authorities (e.g. the Italian Tax Agency).
In both the initial phase of the relationship and the subsequent operational phases, it should be remembered that “customer due diligence” requires: (i) the client to communicate to the Bank any AML Data and/or relevant updates regarding the account holder, authorized agents, or the “beneficial owner”; (ii) the Bank to make requests to better assess the consistency of transactions, and in any case, to “periodically renew” the data and information already obtained.
Such AML Data are retained by each Bank in a specific digital database to be made available to the Authorities for a period of ten (10) years. The database is not an archive of anomalous transactions and/or those subject to special investigation, but rather allows “traceability” of all operations that are legally required to be recorded.

ICBC (Europe) S.A. Milan Branch carries out these obligations with responsibility, paying the utmost attention to the proper fulfillment of its duties, fully aware that the pursuit of profitability and efficiency must be combined with continuous and effective oversight of the integrity of the corporate structure.
To correctly implement the AML Provisions, the Bank reminds that in the operation of:
Current Accounts
Given the need for a traceability system, and the legal limits on the transfer/use of “cash” and/or “bearer securities” between private parties for amounts equal to or exceeding EUR 5,000.00, and as the Bank does not offer bearer products, it may make specific inquiries to understand the origin or destination of cash transactions exceeding this threshold, even when conducted in amounts significant enough not to be justified by the client’s economic activity.
It is reminded that the negotiation of “checks” must include the “non-transferability” clause and the indication of the “beneficiary.” Irregular financial instruments will be negotiated, but will result in an administrative fine imposed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and notification to the Italian Tax Agency.
As for “bank transfers”, Regulation No. 847/2015/EU requires that details of the sender and recipient of the transaction always be included. Therefore, the Bank may reject incoming or outgoing transfers that lack such data. The reason for the transaction is also considered an essential element to allow proper assessment by the Bank.
The Bank notes that “off-account” transactions will be subject to specific scrutiny and legal reporting to the Italian Tax Agency.
Other Types of Operations
Regarding other types of operations (e.g., “trade finance”), due to the involvement of countries considered “high risk” for AML purposes, the Bank may request supporting documentation before proceeding with any transaction.
Suspension of Operations and Termination of Relationship
Due to the importance of anti-money laundering legislation, the Bank will refrain from establishing relationships and/or will not carry out transactions or may terminate existing relationships that do not comply with AML Provisions and/or lack AML Data.
Dormant Accounts
According to the 2007 regulation, dormant deposits:

• Are all those completely inactive for more than 10 years;
• Will be closed unless the owner acts within 180 days;

After that period, they will be transferred to a public fund.
For further details: Dormant accounts