Why do banks ask

We strive to be a reliable and responsible partner and try to give our clients the best service and offer them quality financial advice. Our goal is to ensure compliance with legal requirements in daily operations as well as one of the main banking principles - know your client.

Nowadays the financial operations are primarily carried out by credit and financial institutions. As high security requirements apply to these institutions, the client data processing is subject to strict rules and regulations. They stipulate that a bank must be in possession of the summary of the data of a client and the related persons, as well as of the clients' economic activity.

The bank is obliged to collect and periodically update data on the client by the Law on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention of the Republic of Lithuania and subordinate legislation. In order to meet the legal requirements, as well as to facilitate the process of submission of the information for the Client, the bank has prepared a standardized form for the clients of Danske eBank to complete. From now on, visiting a bank's branch is no longer required in order to provide (update or replace) the data.

Why the bank is inquiring

What is money laundering?
The bank is inquiring its clients for the purpose to contribute, by the means available to it, to the common interest - public security.

According to the Law on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention of the Republic of Lithuania, the following shall be considered to be money laundering:

1) the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in such activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such activity to evade the legal consequences of his action;

2) the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in such activity;

3) the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing at the time of receipt/transfer, that such property was derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in such activity;

4) preparation, attempts to commit and aiding and abetting in the commission of any of the activities pertaining to money laundering, referred to in the law.
Data provision and updating
Timely updating of the data is necessary to ensure that neither the bank nor the clients of the bank would become involved in illegal activities (money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, corruption, terrorist financing, etc.).

Please be advised that in case of the client's failure to present the required data in due time, the bank may take steps to restrict the client's use of the accounts or terminate the business relationship.
Refusing to present the data or provision of false information
According to the Law on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention of the Republic of Lithuania, the client avoids or refuses to provide the information about the origins of the cash or of the property and other additional data, at the bank's request, Danske Bank A/S Lithuania branch is entitled to limit or terminate the transactions or business relationships with the client.
Beneficiary
According to the Law on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention of the Republic of Lithuania, the beneficiary shall be a natural person who is a client (legal person or foreign company) or controls the client and (or) a natural person on whose behalf a transaction or activity.

A natural person who is a beneficiary:
- The natural person who owns or controls the legal person through direct or indirect ownership or control over a sufficient percentage of the shares or voting rights in that legal person, including through bearer share holdings, other than companies listed on a regulated market that are subject to disclosure requirements consistent with the European Union legislation or subject to equivalent international standards, or by controlling it in other methods. A natural person holding 25 per cent and one share, or more than 25 per cent of the client’s property is a beneficial owner. Natural person(s) controlling an entity or several entities that has/have 25 per cent and one share, or more than 25 per cent of the client’s property is considered to be an indirect beneficial owner;
- A natural person holding a senior executive position in case the person referred to in the previous Item has not been identified, or in case there are doubts whether the identified person is the beneficiary;
Politically exposed individuals
According to the Law on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention of the Republic of Lithuania, and with a view to knowing its customers, the Bank has to find out and know whether the customer is a politically exposed person.

Politically exposed individuals shall mean natural persons who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions and their immediate family members or persons known to be close associates of such persons.
Prominent public functions shall mean the following functions in the Republic of Lithuania, the European Union, international or foreign state institutions:
- Heads of State, heads of government, ministers, vice-ministers or deputy ministers, secretaries of State, chancellors of parliament, government or ministries;
- Member of the Parliament;
- Members of supreme courts, of constitutional courts or of other high-level judicial bodies whose decisions are not subject to further appeal;
- Mayor of a municipality, Director of the municipality administration;
- Member of the body of management of a supreme audit and control office of a country, Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank, his deputy or a Member of the Board;
- Ambassadors, chargés d'affaires or high-ranking officers in the armed forces;
- Member of the management or supervisory body of a State-owned enterprise, a public company, a private company whose shares or part of the shares granting more than 1/2 o all votes in the general meeting of shareholders of such companies are owned by the State;
- Member of the management or supervisory body of a municipal enterprise, a public company, a private company whose shares or part of the shares granting more than 1/2 o all votes in the general meeting of shareholders of such companies are owned by the Municipality, or the companies that are considered large companies according to the Law on Financial Reporting of Entities of the Republic of Lithuania;
- Heads and deputy heads of international intergovernmental organisations and members of their management or supervisory bodies;
- Heads and deputy heads of political parties and members of their management bodies.
Close associate shall mean:
- A natural person who, together with the politically exposed person participates in the same organisation with no legal person status or maintains other business relationships;
- A natural person who is the sole owner of the legal person or of an organisation not having the legal person status, set up or operating de facto with the aim of acquiring property or any other personal benefit for the person performing or who has been performing prominent political functions, a beneficiary;
- Member of the management or supervisory body of a State-owned enterprise, a public company, a private company whose shares or part of the shares granting more than 1/2 of all votes in the general meeting of shareholders of such companies are owned by the State;
- Member of the management or supervisory body of a municipal enterprise, a public company, a private company whose shares or part of the shares granting more than 1/2 of all votes in the general meeting of shareholders of such companies are owned by the Municipality, or the companies that are considered large companies according to the Law on Financial Reporting of Entities of the Republic of Lithuania;
- Heads and deputy heads of international intergovernmental organisations and members of their management or supervisory bodies;
- Heads and deputy heads of political parties and members of their management bodies.
International sanctions
The banking services and financial operations must be in conformity with the requirements of the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Union and consistent with the sanctions of the European Union, United Nations and United States as well as the international sanctions. The bank is not carrying out itself and is not servicing the transactions and operations of its clients, if any one party to the transaction is subject to international sanctions.
Tax payment liability in a foreign country and territorial sanctions
According to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), it is required to ensure that the US taxpayers would comply with the requirements of the US tax law and prevent their abuse of foreign banking services in order to avoid the relevant financial obligations. With regards to this agreement, the banks operating in Lithuania must identify the accounts belonging to the US taxpayers. The information about these accounts and their holders must be submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate, which shall pass the received data about the US taxpayers to the US tax authorities.

What data are collected and transmitted?
- Full name (company's name)
- Address;
- US federal taxpayer identification number (abbreviated - TINs)
- Lithuanian taxpayer identification number
- Account number
- Account balance or value
- Total amount of interest, dividends and other revenue
- Total gross income from the sale or redemption of the assets
- Name and identification number of the reporting US financial institution
Common reporting standard (CRS)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) establishes standards relating to the payment of taxes (more information).

Danske Bank is guided by the order, which provides that the financial institutions are required to present to the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania the data and information about the resident of the European Union member states or other jurisdictions and the information about their accounts.

According to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which entered into force on 1 January 2016, the financial institutions are required to identify financial accounts belonging to the clients who are residents for the tax purposes of the country or jurisdiction that is not the financial institution's state or jurisdiction.

According to this law the bank is required:
- Identify the residency of new private and corporate clients for the tax purposes (including the clients who have a residence for tax purposes only within the country)
- Check the existing private and corporate clients whose residence for tax purposes is in a country which is different from the country of the bank's activities (deadline - 31 December 2018)
- Identify the clients legal persons and their beneficiaries/controlling persons whose residence for tax purposes is in a country which is different from the country of the bank activities
- Notify the local tax authorities about the clients whose residence(s) for tax purposes is/are in a country which is different from the country of the bank activities
Therefore, we ask the clients to specify the countries in which you pay the taxes, as well as your taxpayer identification number.

The forms approved by FATCA/CRS:

FATCA/CRS Self-Certification Form for Entities
FATCA/CRS Self-Certification Form for Individuals

What data is collected and transmitted?
- Full name (company's name)
- Address
- Jurisdiction(s) of residence, where the person has a duty to pay taxes
- Taxpayer identification number(s) (acronym - TINs); See here for more information on TIN formats applicable in the relevant jurisdictions
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
For more information about the regulations for residence for tax purposes in a particular jurisdiction can be found on the OECD website.
Useful links and other important information
In order to ensure smooth cooperation, please fill out the forms presented by the bank. All the information provided for you is treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the bank's regulations for secrecy of information and may be made public only where required by legislation.

Danske Bank has the right to refuse provision of certain services, as well as to limit their provision or to terminate the contract if the client does not submit the required information.

Danske Bank's activities are under constant supervision and evaluation of external auditors and the Lithuanian Bank as well as the auditors of Danske Bank Group and branch.

More information about the bank's obligations can be found:
If you have any questions, please call Danske Bank dialling 1636 - weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.(8.a.m.- 5 p.m. on Fridays) or send an e-mail to info@danskebank.lt