The Ministry of Commerce and Trade’s (MoCI) Anti-Cash Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Information for the Gold and Treasured Metals Buying and selling Sector 2025, goals to assist professionals perceive and adjust to related legal guidelines and tips on commerce in these commodities. The information highlights that criminals usually exploit the sector to retailer, transfer, and combine illicit funds inside professional frameworks, benefiting from weak oversight, casual practices, and complicated international provide chains.
The information stresses that the excessive worth and liquidity of treasured metals and gem stones make them significantly engaging for concealing and transferring illicit funds, reinforcing the necessity for stringent compliance and monitoring measures within the sector.
The Monetary Motion Activity Pressure (FATF), the worldwide cash laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, has just lately recognized the valuable metals and gem stones buying and selling sector as high-risk for cash laundering, terrorist financing, and different threats to the worldwide monetary system. The sector’s attraction to unlawful actors stems from the excessive worth of its merchandise, their ease of transport, and their convertibility into money.
In accordance with FATF’s Nationwide Threat Evaluation of Kuwait, the valuable metals and gem stones buying and selling sector is assessed as medium to excessive threat. Though money transactions exceeding KD3,000 have been prohibited in Kuwait since 2016, the authorized framework was additional strengthened solely in 2025 with a complete ban on all money transactions on this sector, no matter worth.
The brand new information stresses that though the prohibition on money transactions has considerably decreased cash-related dangers, professionals within the sector want to stay vigilant and comply totally by refusing any transaction involving money, no matter its quantity. This full prohibition ought to be included into the sector’s inner controls and procedures stated th.
The information outlines Anti-Cash Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) controls, overlaying fee and transaction dangers, corresponding to unconventional or giant money funds, advance funds from unrelated third events, and funds routed by way of high-risk sectors like actual property, automotive, development, or tourism.
Sellers are required to guage inherent dangers—these naturally current of their actions—earlier than implementing inner controls. This contains assessing dangers related to merchandise, providers, clients, transactions, supply channels, and geographical publicity to make sure efficient threat administration.
Buyer due diligence (CDD) have to be carried out earlier than establishing any enterprise relationship or conducting occasional transactions price KD3,000 or extra. This contains verifying the id of the client and helpful proprietor, understanding the enterprise relationship, and confirming the supply of funds and wealth, significantly for high-value transactions. If CDD can’t be accomplished, the transaction should not proceed, and a suspicious transaction report (STR) ought to be thought-about.
The information additionally highlights the necessity to appoint a compliance officer, set up accepted inner insurance policies, and adjust to focused monetary sanctions. Sector staff bear vital accountability in detecting and reporting suspicious transactions, guaranteeing vigilant implementation of CDD, verification of funds, and evaluation of bizarre transaction patterns. STRs have to be promptly submitted to Kuwait’s Monetary Investigation Unit, sustaining strict confidentiality.
The information outlines product and threat providers within the sector. These embrace:
- Excessive-value, simply transportable merchandise corresponding to gold bullion or polished diamonds, which will be simply moved and hid.
- Gold, particularly, is a priority because of its international liquidity, uniform pricing, and use in its place foreign money. Scrap gold, gold mud, or riverine gold is commonly produced informally and poses excessive dangers due to the problem in assessing and monitoring it.
- Counterfeit or stolen items, together with artificial diamonds marketed as pure or gold with falsified purity.
Used jewellery bought in bulk, which will be tough to hint, particularly when transacted by way of pawn outlets or casual sellers. - Steel accounts, the place metals corresponding to gold are saved and traded equally to money or banking providers, could also be much less dangerous when carried out in managed environments. Nevertheless, there stays potential for misuse, and these dangers have to be assessed on a case-by-case foundation.