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16.5 Appointment of the Alternate Compliance Officer

N 35/2018 STA
  1. 16.5.1The Licensed Person must appoint an Alternate Compliance Officer to strengthen the AML/CFT compliance function subject to the following conditions:
    1. a)The Alternate Compliance Officer must be a full time employee of the Licensed Person;
    2. b)The Alternate Compliance Officer must not engage in any part time employment or act as a consultant outside the business of the Licensed Person;
    3. c)The Alternate Compliance Officer must be a resident in the UAE;
    4. d)A foreign national must be under the employment visa of the Licensed Person when employed as an Alternate Compliance Officer;
    5. e)The Alternate Compliance Officer must directly report to the Compliance Officer or to the Board of Directors (or to the Owner/Partners where there is no Board of Directors) during the absence of the Compliance Officer;
    6. f)The Alternate Compliance Officer must have authority to act without any interference from the Manager in Charge or other employees of the Licensed Person;
    7. g)If the Licensed Person is in possession of either a Category B or Category C License, the role of its Alternate Compliance Officer must not be combined with any other function of the Licensed Person; and
    8. h)If the Licensed Person is in possession of a Category A License, the role of its Alternate Compliance Officer may be combined with any other function of the Licensed Person which does not create any conflict of interest.
  2. 16.5.2Prior Approval for the Appointment:
    1. a)A Letter of No Objection must be obtained for appointing an Alternate Compliance Officer by submitting the following to the Banking Supervision Department:
      • •Letter from the authorized signatory seeking the Letter of No Objection from the Central Bank;
      • •Duly completed APA Form (Refer to Appendix 5 for this Form) and supporting documents; and
      • •Undertaking letter from the authorized signatory of the Licensed Person confirming the binding commitment of the Alternate Compliance Officer and the Licensed Person to comply with Paragraphs 16.5.1 (a) to (g) of this Chapter.
    2. b)The Central Bank shall conduct a fit and proper test on the proposed Alternate Compliance officer of the Licensed Person. The Central Bank reserves the right to:
      • •interview the proposed Alternate Compliance Officer as part of the fit and proper test, if it deems it necessary; and
      • •issue or decline the approval for the proposed Alternate Compliance Officer.
    3. c)In case the prior approval is rejected by the Central Bank, the Licensed Person must propose a new Alternate Compliance Officer within the timeline provided by the Central Bank in the Letter of Rejection. If a specific timeline is not provided in the Letter of Rejection, then the Licensed Person must propose a new Alternate Compliance Officer within a period of one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from the date of Letter of Rejection; and
    4. d)Full details of the Alternate Compliance Officer must be provided to the FID via email to cbuaeamlscu@cbuae.gov.ae (Refer to Notice Number 1401/2010 issued by the Central Bank on 16th March 2010).
  3. 16.5.3Resignation of the Alternate Compliance Officer and Notification to the Central Bank:
    1. a)The Licensed Person must notify the Banking Supervision Department, within five (5) working days, in case the Alternate Compliance Officer resigns or vacates the office in any other manner with reasons thereof via email to: info.ehs@cbuae.gov.ae; and
    2. b)The Licensed Person must appoint a permanent replacement, within a period of one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days from the date when the position of the Alternate Compliance Officer falls vacant, after obtaining a Letter of No Objection from the Banking Supervision Department (Refer to Paragraph 16.5.2 of this Chapter for more information).
  4. 16.5.4Removal of the Alternate Compliance Officer:
    1. a)The Central Bank reserves the right to remove the Alternate Compliance Officer of a Licensed Person at its sole discretion;
    2. b)The Licensed Person, in such cases, must comply with Paragraph 16.5.3 (b) of this Chapter; and
    3. c)The Central Bank reserves the right to communicate or not to communicate reasons to the Licensed Person for its decision to remove the Alternate Compliance Officer.