Publication of Circular No 792 of 26 January 2026 by the AED

On 26th January 2026, the Administration de l’Enregistrement, des Domaines et de la TVA – Registration Duty, Estate and VAT Authority (“AED”), being the supervisory authority in Luxembourg responsible for ensuring AML/CFT compliance by, inter alia, unregulated funds, issued a Circular (herein referred to as the “2026 Circular”) relating to the obligation to identify and verify the identity of a natural person client, and a legal person or legal arrangement, by professionals under the control and supervision of the AED in matters relating to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The Circular referred to in this news item replaces Circular N° 792 dated 28 July 2025 (herein referred to as the “2025 Circular”), referred to in a separate news item published on 11th August 2025.

Article 3(2)(a) of the Law of 12 November 2004 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (“AML Law”) specifies that professionals are required to identify the customer and verify the customer’s identity on the basis of documents, data, or information from a reliable and independent source, including, where applicable, electronic identification means and relevant trust services provided for in Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014, or any other secure, electronic or remote identification process regulated, recognized, approved, or accepted by the relevant national authorities.

Further to the guidance included with reference to the identification and verification of natural persons within the 2025 Circular, the 2026 Circular (whilst also including again the guidance relating to the identification and verification of natural persons) provides additional guidance for the identification and verification of the identity of clients who are legal persons, or legal arrangements. The identification and verification process for legal persons or legal arrangements shall be carried out by means of information and documentation, as per the following:

• Name (legal denomination);
• Where applicable, an official national registration number;
• Legal form;
• Registered office address and, where different, the address of the principal place of business;
• In case of legal persons, identification of the directors involved in the business relationship with the professional, in accordance with the procedures described for the identification of natural persons;
• In case of legal arrangements, identification of Administrators or persons exercising similar positions involved in the business relationship with the professional, in accordance with the procedures described for the identification of natural persons;
• Provisions governing the authority to bind the legal person or the legal arrangement;
• Latest consolidated statutes or up-to-date statutes, or any constitutive document, or any equivalent proof of establishment or existence;
• A recent and up-to-date extract from the companies register or any equivalent probative document; and
• An organisational chart reflecting the ownership structure of the client.

The nature and extent of the documents, data or information to be collected for a client (whether a natural person, a legal person, or a legal arrangement) shall be determined on the basis of a risk-based approach, having regard to the profile and characteristics of the client, and must take place before the establishment of a business relationship, shall be subject to ongoing monitoring throughout the duration of the business relationship, to ensure accuracy and relevance of the information and documents collected.

The identification and verification of the identity of a client shall be carried out irrespective of whether the client is onboarded on a face-to-face or non-face-to-face level, and the information and documentation obtained shall be retained on record. Furthermore, the identification and verification controls applied, and the ongoing monitoring carried out, must be proportionate and in line with the ML/FT risk level for the respective client.

Should you require further information, or clarifications on the above, kindly contact Natalia Hernandez and/or Jonathan Camilleri.