Luminor notified its clients that as of 1 January, the bank will be closing the accounts of Estonian e-residents that fail to fulfil due diligence.
Hannes Oja, head of Anti-Money Laundering at Luminor Estonia, said that based on the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, banks are required to update the data of all of their customers, writes daily Eesti Päevaleht (EPL).
As a result, all existing clie
“We always remind clients via various channels (email, mail, phone, online bank) to update their information,” Oja explained. “If a client nonetheless consistently fails to update their information or is unable to substantiate the origin of transactions and movement of money tied to their business activity, then we are obligated to end the customer relationship. This is in accordance with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.”er additional questions regarding their business activity and the origin of their transactions.nts have to do so themselves on a regular basis. Non-resident clients, however, have to answer.
He also noted that in offering its services, Luminor is focused first and foremost on the local, Baltic market, which is why the bank expects its clients’ activity to be tied to the local economic space. As e-residency is not equivalent to Estonian citizenship and all e-reisdents have to undergo checks, the bank is unable to offer the requested services if it is not provided with sufficient information from its clients.
