On the 29 February 2024, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (“CSSF”), issued Circular CSSF 24/854 (the “Circular”) titled “Guidelines for the collective investment sector on the AML/CFT Summary Report RC (“SRRC”) and applicable FAQs on the SRRC.

The Circular provides guidance on the SRRC which is to be prepared by the “Responsable du Contrôle” (the “RC”) and submitted to the CSSF by the “Responsable du Respect” (the “RR”) in accordance with Article 42(7) of CSSF Regulation No 12-02 of 14 December 2012 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, as amended (the “RCSSF 12-02”).

Scope

The Circular provides that the submission of the SRRC in terms of Article 42(7) of RCSSF 12-02 applies to:

• All Luxembourg Investment Fund Managers – IFMs (including registered alternative investment fund managers – AIFMs);
• Luxembourg branches of Foreign Investment Fund Managers; and
• Luxembourg Investment Funds supervised by the CSSF for AML/CFT Purposes.

Further to the above, the Circular clearly outlines that the SRRC is waived for “Luxembourg investment funds which designated a Luxembourg management company submitting this annual report”. Thus, such funds are out of scope of the Circular.

Reporting to the CSSF

The Circular highlights that the new SRRC template considers existing market practices and must be read without prejudice of any other money laundering and countering of the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) requirements applicable to the entities highlighted above. The SRRC template focuses on key data points which are relevant for the CSSF’s supervision regarding the fight against AML/CFT.

Question 6 of the FAQs – “Which findings must be reported in the dedicated section of the SRRC?” provides that all AML/CFT related findings (open or closed) which are identified during the period covered by the SRRC must be reported in the “Findings” section, these include:

• AML/CFT findings identified by the RC;
• AML/CFT findings identified by the internal audit report presented to the board (if applicable);
• AML/CFT findings identified by the Approved Statutory Auditor as reported in the Management Letter reported to the board; or
• AML/CFT findings reported by the CSSF in a letter to the entity.

The SRRC is to be submitted on an annual basis, solely through eDesk by the RR (i.e the person responsible for compliance with the AML/CFT professional obligations at the level of the authorised management or board of directors). The submission must occur within five months after the closing of the annual accounts of the supervised entity in scope.

The Circular also provides that solely with respect to the closing ending on 31 December 2023, an extension of two extra months is being granted for the submission of the SRRC.

Author: Neil Bezzina