The Financial Monitoring Service of the National Bank of Georgia has fined currency exchange office LTD “VALUTA+” a total of 5,514,000 GEL over multiple violations of anti-money laundering and compliance regulations.
The findings show that the company failed to submit the initial registration form within the required deadlines, resulting in a 3,000 GEL fine.
The inspection also identified two cases of failure to submit transaction reports (CTR) to the Financial Monitoring Service, leading to a total fine of 4,000 GEL.
Authorities said 453 cases were recorded where the company failed to enter client and transaction information into a required electronic system. This resulted in fines totaling 3,171,000 GEL.
In addition, 2,267 cases were identified where services were provided without proper client verification, resulting in penalties of 2,267,000 GEL.
The inspection also found 108 cases where the required documentation for verification of persons acting on behalf of clients was not recorded, resulting in fines of 54,000 GEL.
The Financial Monitoring Service said the company failed to comply with internal control requirements under Georgia’s anti-money laundering legislation, with significant gaps identified in its compliance framework. This resulted in a 3,000 GEL fine.
Authorities also said the company’s electronic monitoring system contained serious shortcomings and failed to detect suspicious or unusual transactions, as well as properly screen sanctioned persons and politically exposed persons. This violation resulted in a 10,000 GEL fine.
In addition, two cases of incorrect reporting to the National Bank of Georgia were identified, leading to a further 2,000 GEL penalty.
The Financial Monitoring Service said the violations collectively demonstrated systemic non-compliance with Georgia’s law on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
