Money laundering Prevention

Link to contact information

The Senate Department for Economics is the competent supervisory authority under the Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz, GwG) for obliged entities from the non-financial sector in the State of Berlin.

What does the term money laundering even mean? And what is money laundering prevention and what is its purpose? The following pages will give you an initial overview of the Money Laundering Act and its latest updates. In addition to this, you will receive information about responsibilities and groups of obliged entities, the risk-based approach and what must be observed with regard to fulfilling due diligence requirements.

Detailed, target group specific information is also provided in the nationally uniform fact sheets that are available in the download area.

News

On this page you will find news about the issue of money laundering prevention. More information

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The Money Laundering Act – What is it all about?

The purpose of the law regarding the detection of profits from serious crimes (the Money Laundering Act, in German ‘Geldwäschegesetz’, abbreviated: GwG) is to prevent illegally obtained money and other assets from being channelled into the legal economic cycle. More information

The new GwG – What are the changes?

The new version of the Money Laundering Act from 2017 became effective on 1 January 2020. The purpose of this amendment of the GwG is to implement the amending 4th EU Money Laundering Directive and it provides important changes for obliged entities that are supervised by the Senate Department. More information

Obliged entities according to the GwG and the competent supervisory authority – Who falls within the competence of the Senate Department?

The Senate Department for Economics is the competent supervisory authority for this obliged entities: Goods traders, art agents and art store keepers; real estate agents; insurance intermediaries; service providers for companies and trust property and trustees; financial companies and bookmakers. More information

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Risk management - How does this affect me?

According to § 4 subsection 1 GwG, you are generally obliged to have effective risk management in place, if you are an obliged party in the sense of the GwG. The required extent of such measures depends on your company’s risk level with regard to money laundering that must be reviewed individually. More information

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Due diligence requirements with regard to customers – Which are these?

The principle to ‘know your customers’ is a key obligation pursuant to the Money Laundering Act. In this context, you must comply with certain due diligence requirements that apply for your business relationships. More information

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Transparency register – Am I obliged to register and who is in charge?

Certain companies and legal forms (regardless of whether or not they are obliged entities), are required to report their beneficial owners to the Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH as the organisation that keeps the transparency register. More information

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Reporting suspicions – Who do I need to contact, if I would like to report a money laundering suspicion?

Reporting of circumstances that give rise to suspicions of money laundering or terrorism financing is among the key duties provided for by the Money Laundering Act. The Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations (FIU) is responsible for receiving reports of such suspicions. More information