Anti-Money Laundering, Data Protection, and Notarial Secrecy
AML and data protection
This domain tests the notary as a gatekeeper. Under the AML law, the notary must identify clients and beneficial owners, assess risk, apply enhanced due diligence to politically exposed persons and complex structures, monitor transactions, and report suspicious activity to the financial intelligence unit. Tipping off the client is prohibited. Record retention follows the statutory period.
Secrecy and data
- Notarial secrecy covers the fact of the act and its contents; disclosure is allowed only where the law requires it, for example to courts or authorised investigators.
- Personal data must be processed lawfully, stored securely, and kept no longer than necessary, subject to AML retention rules.
- A suspicious-transaction report is made to the competent authority, not to the client.
- The notary must keep a risk profile and document the reasoning for high-risk clients.
Worked example. A buyer pays cash for an apartment through an offshore company with nominee directors. The notary identifies the company, asks for the beneficial owner, and receives unclear answers. Analysis: the structure is high risk; the notary must apply enhanced due diligence, obtain reliable ownership information, and consider a suspicious-transaction report. The notary must not tell the buyer that a report is being made.
Traps. Equating secrecy with a duty to hide crime; tipping off; recording a nominee as the beneficial owner without further checks; keeping data indefinitely; failing to document risk assessment.