Anti-money-laundering policy
Translated from the Czech version of the Order’s policy (2021). The authoritative text is issued by the Grand Magistry.
Introduction
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (“the Order”) has a worldwide presence and an international structure, and works in many areas, including places without conventional banking services and places in or near areas exposed to terrorist activity. The Order therefore faces the risk of becoming the target of attempts to use it to launder money that may have been obtained unlawfully.
This policy sets out the main rules governing the Order’s approach to preventing money laundering and other financial crime. It describes the steps expected to ensure that the Order is not exposed to undue reputational or compliance risk.
Scope
This policy applies to all entities of the Order of Malta and to volunteers acting on behalf of the Order, and to all other entities directly or indirectly controlled by the Order. It should be applied in accordance with local legal and regulatory requirements. Where a requirement of this policy is less strict than local law, entities should adopt the stricter local requirement.
Main rules
- The Order should take all reasonable steps to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and bribery.
- In all financial transactions, entities of the Order should comply with all local laws and established good practice in the jurisdictions where they are registered or operate.
Expectations of entities
In the light of the rules above, all entities of the Order are expected to follow local policies and procedures on money laundering, bribery and terrorist financing. Their nature and structure will differ according to each entity’s work, but they should take account of all the applicable requirements below. The policies should name the person or committee responsible for overseeing financial control (usually the board or the equivalent body of the entity) and, where appropriate, the delegation of responsibility to executive management.
Entities should ensure that their local policies and procedures:
- Allow full compliance with local law. Anti-money-laundering and anti-bribery laws differ widely between jurisdictions and are often highly prescriptive. It is essential that staff know their local obligations and are able to meet them.
- Establish sound financial controls. For example, there should be payment approval thresholds under which, according to value and risk as determined by the entity’s governing body, a set number of approvals by staff of a given seniority is required.
- Apply clear procedures and limits for cash payments. Although cash is unavoidable in some circumstances, it carries an inherently higher risk because it cannot be traced and can be stolen or lost. Sound procedures with a clear audit trail and authorisation protocols are therefore needed to limit and manage its use.
- Show knowledge of sanctions regimes and ensure that no payments are made to prohibited individuals or organisations. This includes making sure that no payments are made to organisations that may be designated as terrorist.
- Provide for the screening of prospective donors in line with the local gift acceptance policy. Reference should be made to the Order’s gift acceptance policy.
- Make clear that bribery in any form is unacceptable. Staff should know their obligations: when a gift may amount to a bribe and how suspected bribery should be reported, both internally and to outside authorities. Accepting a bribe, or failing to report one, is a serious matter and may call for disciplinary action.