CySEC AML Certification Examination Preparation Course

Course Overview

The CySEC AML Certification Examination requires very good knowledge of the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Laws of 2007-2019 (“the Law”), CySEC’s Directive for the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and the Risk Factor Guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities, among other things.

Persons who pass the CySEC AML Certification Examination can be appointed as AML compliance officers at CySEC-regulated legal entities. Successful candidates will then be registered in the AML Compliance Officers Register.

Why Professionals Choose the EIMF CySEC Preparation Course

In addition to the most updated and concise material, those attending the EIMF CySEC AML Certification Examination preparation courses will greatly benefit from:

• A proven track record of highly successful CySEC Examination Preparation Courses
• In-depth expertise of those who deliver the course; the EIMF training team are industry experts with practical knowhow as well as experienced in the delivering exam preparation courses for CySEC Certifications
• Through our vast experience, our training team have designed a very well-structured course to assist participants to comprehend the knowledge and absorb the required knowledge of the syllabus topics as required for the examination
• The EIMF training team provide volunteer support to questions raised post-completion of the preparation courses

Target Audience of the EIMF CySEC AML Certification Examination

The exam is addressed to all individuals who are interested in being appointed as AML compliance officers at CySEC-regulated legal entities.

Preparation Material

All participants will receive the EIMF preparation booklets that include the presentation notes, glossary of all major terms and revision questions with answers and references.

Course Content and Examinations

The assessment structure of the CySEC AML Certification Examination is a 60-minute examination consisting of 40 multiple choice questions and covers the following elements:

Chapter 1: Introductory Provisions

• References used in the manual
• The Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission
• Becoming an AML certified compliance officer
• The objectives of the CySEC AML Certification
• Workbook for the AML Certification Examination

Chapter 2: Understanding Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Sanctions

• What is Money Laundering (ML)?
• The 3 (three) stages of ML
• ML threats and vulnerabilities in accordance with the NRA and methods of ML
• Terrorist Financing (TF) and TF Criminalization
• Sanctions

Chapter 3: Legal and Regulatory Requirements

• Unit for Combating Money Laundering
• The Supervisory Authority
• Main provisions of the AML/CFT Law with regard to criminal liability, offences and penalties
• European Directives
• FATF
• High Risk Third Countries
• MONEYVAL
• The Combating of Terrorism Law of 2010 (N. 110(I)/2010) on the Fight against Terrorism
• The United Nations Security Council Resolutions and Decisions (Sanctions) and the Council of the European Union (Restrictive Measures) Law of 2016 (58(I)/2016)

Chapter 4: The AML Compliance Culture

• Basic elements of a strong compliance culture
• Internal Policies, Controls and Procedures
• The Role of the BoD
• The role and duties of the Compliance Officer, the Alternate Compliance Officer and Assistants
• The establishment and role of an Internal Audit function
• Employees obligations, education and training

Chapter 5: Assessing and Managing Risks

• Risk-Based Approach (RBA)
• Identifying ML and TF risks
• Factors to determine risks
• Assessing ML/TF Risks
• On-going monitoring of the risk assessment and record keeping

Chapter 6: Know your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD)

• Procedures for the prevention of ML and TF
• Customer Identification and Due Diligence procedures
• Simplified Customer Due Diligence (SDD)
• Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (EDD)
• Sectoral guidelines for application of Customer Due Diligence measures
• Ongoing Monitoring
• Beneficial Ownership information
• Reliance on third parties
• CDD in case of networking of Obliged Entities or groups
• Prohibition of cooperation with shell banks
• Processing of personal data

Chapter 7: Transaction Monitoring and Suspicious Reporting

• Internal reporting procedures and external reporting to the Unit
• Examples of suspicious transactions and activities related to ML and TF

CPD Recognition

This programme may be approved for up to 16 CPD units in AML and Financial Regulation. Eligibility criteria and CPD Units are verified directly by your association, regulator or other bodies which you hold membership.

Professionals requiring CPD units to meet the education requirements for CySEC licence renewal, and/or for maintaining other professional memberships/certifications which accept CPD in AML and Financial Regulation, are advised to consider training subjects in categories that indicate CPD training in AML and CPD training in Financial Regulation.

The Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) has confirmed that this programme is accredited for 16 CAMS Credits. Participation in this course does not substitute the requirement to earn (12) ACAMS credits through ACAMS produced training for CAMS recertification.

Registration and Re-registration Procedure for Examinations and Registry

In order to register for the CySEC examinations, prospective candidates are required to complete the online CySEC application . After registering, an automatic payment receipt will be sent to the candidates. In the event that a candidate wishes to make any changes to their exam application or cancel their participation in the exam, they may do so only eight (8) working days prior to the exam date and after paying the relevant fee. Successful candidates may register in the AML compliance officers register within four (4) weeks of receiving the relevant email notification by CySEC.

In case candidates fail the exam, they are obliged to apply to take the next examination in a period of twelve (12) months. The twelve-month period starts from the initial start date of the examination. In case an individual fails the exam in the twelve month-period, then their appointment as AML compliance officer shall not resume until they have managed to pass the exam.

In case you have any queries regarding the examinations, you are kindly requested to forward them to the following email: certifications@cysec.gov.cy.

Examination Dates

The exams will be held every Tuesday and Thursday in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Examination Fees

The examination fee is €300.00 and is payable directly to CySEC upon registration to the exam.

CPD Educational Requirements and Annual Renewal Fee

To maintain registration in the CySEC public register for AML Compliance Officers, successful holders of the CySEC AML Certification Licence need to take 10 hours of related CPD training for each calendar year and pay to the Commission an annual renewal fee of €80.

For further information about the CySEC Examinations, please visit https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/public-info/certifications-and-seminars/certifications/