The Minister of Justice can decide to grant an exemption from coverage by the AML/CFT Act under certain circumstances. For example, if a business faces low money laundering risks it may not be required to meet some or all of the usual requirements.
A business that believes it may be exempt will need to make an application for an exemption.
Exemptions can be given to specific businesses or types of businesses, and for specific activities and types of activities.
Before applying, you should check the AML/CFT Exemptions Regulations(external link), the AML/CFT Definitions(external link) Regulations and the AML/CFT Class Exemptions(external link) to find out if you are already exempt.
You should also check whether you are a reporting entity for the purposes of the Act. Note that not all businesses are reporting entities. You will be a reporting entity if you perform any of the activities defined(external link) under the Act in your ordinary course of business.
If you are not a reporting entity, you do not need to apply for a Ministerial exemption.
Any business that’s normally covered by the Act (known as a reporting entity) can apply for an exemption.
Applications need to make a strong case for being granted an exemption. Exemptions can be granted on the following grounds:
The business is at low risk of being exploited by money launderers and terrorism financers.
It was not intended that the particular type of business should have to comply with the Act, when the Act was developed.
The compliance costs and effort would be unreasonable compared to the risks the business faces
The business would suffer a competitive disadvantage if it was required to comply with the Act.