47 Obligation to maintain records

(1) A reporting entity shall maintain records of—
(a) customer due diligence measures, including account files, business correspondence and copies of all documents evidencing the identities of customers and beneficial owners, and records and the results of any analysis undertaken in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(b) all transactions carried out both domestically and internationally by it and correspondence relating to the transactions as is necessary to enable any transaction to be readily reconstructed at any time by the FIU or the Attorney-General, and the records shall contain particulars sufficient to identify—
(i) the nature and date of the transaction;
(ii) the type and amount of currency involved;
(iii) the type and identifying number of any account with the reporting entity involved in the transaction;

(iv) if the transaction involves a negotiable instrument other than currency, the name of the drawer of the instrument, the name of the institution on which it was drawn, the name of the payee
(if any), the amount and date of the instrument, the number (if any) of the instrument and details of any endorsements appearing on the instrument;
(v) the name and address of the reporting entity, and of the officer, employee or agent of the reporting entity who prepared the record;
(c) all reports made to the FIU under section 48; and
(d) enquiries relating to money laundering and terrorist financing activities, made to it by the FIU.
(2) The records mentioned in subsection (1) shall be kept for a minimum period of 7 years from the date—
(a) on which evidence of a person’s identity is obtained;
(b) of any transaction or correspondence relating to a customer; or
(c) on which the business relationship ceases.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, the records mentioned in subsection (1) shall be kept for a period of 30 years in digital form, from the date on which the business relationship ceases, by the following entities—
(a) banks;
(b) bureau de change;
(c) insurance companies;
(d) securities exchange infrastructures;
(e) virtual asset service providers. (Inserted by Act 12 of 2024)
(4) The records established and maintained for purposes of subsection (1)
(b) shall be—
(a) sufficient to enable the transaction to be readily reconstructed at any time by the FIU or the Attorney-General to provide, if necessary, evidence for the prosecution of any offence;
(b) maintained in a manner and form that will enable the reporting entity to comply immediately with requests for information from the law enforcement agencies or the FIU.
(5) Where any record is required to be kept under this Act, a copy of it with the appropriate back-up and recovery procedures shall be kept—
(a) in a machine-readable form, if a paper copy can be readily produced from it; or
(b) in an electronic form, if a paper copy can be readily produced from it and in a manner that enables appropriate authentication.

(6) The records maintained under subsection (1) shall be made available upon request to the FIU or the Attorney-General for purposes of ensuring compliance with this Act.
(7) A reporting entity which ceases to operate in the Republic shall handover all the required records under this section to its supervisory authority for safe custody in such form and manner and in such time as may be prescribed by regulations.