Regulatory Framework
Belgium has built a robust anti-money laundering framework, closely aligned with European standards. The cornerstone of this framework is the Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, which transposed the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD4). This law has been amended several times to incorporate the requirements of AMLD5 (transposed in 2020) and more recently AMLD6 (transposed in 2023), further strengthening the due diligence framework.
The Belgian institutional architecture rests on two main pillars. The National Bank of Belgium (BNB — Banque Nationale de Belgique) acts as the prudential supervisory authority for credit institutions, insurance companies, payment institutions, and electronic money institutions. It monitors compliance with AML/CFT obligations by these entities, conducts regular inspections, and has extensive sanctioning powers. The Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF — Cellule de traitement des informations financières) is Belgium's financial intelligence unit. As an independent administrative body, the CTIF receives and analyses suspicious transaction reports transmitted by obligated entities and, where appropriate, forwards files to the public prosecutor for judicial proceedings.
The Belgian framework is characterised by a graduated risk-based approach: obligated entities must carry out a Business-Wide Risk Assessment specific to their activity, develop proportionate internal policies and procedures, and establish an internal control system including a licensed anti-money laundering compliance officer (AMLCO) approved by the BNB. The CTIF publishes an annual activity report detailing observed money laundering typologies, the most exposed sectors, and statistical trends.
Who Must Comply
The scope of Belgium's Anti-Money Laundering Law of 2017 covers a wide range of professions and activities, defined in Article 5 of the law:
- Credit institutions: commercial banks, savings banks, cooperative banks, branches of foreign institutions
- Insurance and reinsurance companies: for activities related to life insurance and capitalisation operations
- Payment institutions and electronic money institutions: fintechs, neobanks, payment service providers
- Stock exchange companies and management companies: investment firms, portfolio management companies, collective investment schemes
- Virtual currency exchange and custodian wallet service providers: registered with the FSMA
- Accounting professions: company auditors (réviseurs d'entreprises), chartered accountants, licensed tax advisors
- Legal professions: notaries, bailiffs, lawyers (for certain asset-related transactions)
- Real estate agents: registered with the Institute of Estate Agents (IPI)
- High-value goods dealers: for cash transactions exceeding EUR 10,000
- Casinos and gaming establishments: subject to the Gaming Commission
Belgium has also extended the scope to art dealers and trust or company service providers (domiciliary agents), in accordance with European directives.
Customer Due Diligence Requirements
Standard Due Diligence (CDD)
Belgian law requires obligated entities to implement due diligence measures before entering into a business relationship or executing an occasional transaction exceeding regulatory thresholds:
Customer identification: collection of identity data (name, first name, date of birth, address, nationality) and verification on the basis of an official document. For Belgian residents, the electronic identity card (eID) is the reference document, whose data can be read electronically via the integrated chip. For non-residents, a passport or equivalent official identity document is accepted.
Identity verification: verification must be reliable and based on independent sources. The BNB accepts in-person verification, electronic verification (eID, itsme®), and remote verification under strict conditions (video conference with identity document capture). The use of the itsme® identification scheme, widely adopted in Belgium, is explicitly recognised as a compliant means of identity verification.
Beneficial owner identification: any natural person who directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of voting rights or capital, or exercises effective control. Data must be verified by consulting the UBO Register (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) managed by the FPS Finance and accessible to obligated entities. Since 2019, registration in the UBO Register has been mandatory for all Belgian companies.
Understanding the purpose and nature of the business relationship: assessment of the customer's risk profile, understanding of the purpose of transactions and expected volume of activity.
Ongoing monitoring: updating information at regular intervals and monitoring transactions to detect any inconsistency with the customer's profile.
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)
Enhanced due diligence measures are mandatory in the following situations:
- Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs): functions covered by the Belgian definition are aligned with the European list. Measures include approval of the relationship by a member of senior management, establishing the source of wealth and funds, and enhanced ongoing scrutiny.
- Relationships with high-risk countries: countries on the European Commission's list or identified as deficient by the FATF. The BNB may impose specific countermeasures, including prohibition of new business relationships.
- Complex or unusual transactions: transactions whose amount, modalities, or parties involved present atypical characteristics.
- Complex legal structures: multi-layered companies, trusts, foundations whose structure makes beneficial owner identification difficult.
- Non-resident clientele: in certain sectors, the BNB requires additional measures for customers not residing in Belgium.
Required Documents
For natural persons:
- Belgian identity card (eID) or valid passport
- Recent proof of address (certificate of household composition, utility bill)
- National register number (for Belgian residents)
- Where applicable, additional supporting documents for PEPs (source of wealth, sworn statement)
For legal persons:
- Up-to-date extract from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE)
- Coordinated articles of association published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge)
- Identity documents of legal representatives and agents
- Registration in the UBO Register and beneficial owner documentation
- Most recent annual accounts filed with the Central Balance Sheet Office
For legal structures (trusts, foundations):
- Constituting instrument and all governance documents
- Identification of the settlor, trustees, beneficiaries, and any person exercising effective control
- Registration in the Belgian UBO Register (mandatory for trusts and similar legal arrangements administered from Belgium)
The document retention period is 10 years after the end of the business relationship — significantly longer than the European minimum of 5 years.
Reporting Obligations
Suspicious transaction report to the CTIF: obligated entities must report to the CTIF any transaction or attempted transaction which they know, suspect, or have reasonable grounds to suspect is related to money laundering, terrorist financing, or the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Reports must be made without delay via the CTIF's goAML online system.
No monetary threshold for reporting: unlike some countries, Belgium does not impose a minimum threshold for suspicious transaction reports. Any suspicious transaction, regardless of amount, must be reported.
Prohibition on tipping off: obligated entities and their employees may not inform the customer, or any third party, that a suspicious transaction report has been made or that an analysis is in progress. Violation of this prohibition is criminally sanctioned.
CTIF opposition: the CTIF has 5 business days to oppose the execution of a transaction that is the subject of a report. This period may be extended by judicial decision. During the opposition period, the obligated entity may not execute the transaction.
In 2024, the CTIF received more than 36,000 suspicious transaction reports, primarily from the banking sector (approximately 60%) and notaries (approximately 12%).
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Administrative sanctions (BNB):
- Formal warning or reprimand
- Order to comply within a specified period
- Appointment of a special commissioner
- Suspension or withdrawal of licence
- Financial penalty of up to EUR 5 million for natural persons and the higher of EUR 5 million, 10% of annual turnover, or double the amount of the benefit derived from the offence for legal persons
Criminal sanctions:
- Money laundering is punishable by imprisonment of 15 days to 5 years and a fine of EUR 26,000 to EUR 100,000 (Articles 505 et seq. of the Penal Code)
- Terrorist financing is punishable by 5 to 10 years' imprisonment
- Failure to report a suspicion is punishable by a fine of up to EUR 1,250,000
- Violation of the tipping-off prohibition is punishable by 1 month to 1 year imprisonment and a fine
Publication of sanctions: BNB sanction decisions are published on its website on a named basis, unless such publication would cause disproportionate harm.
How CheckFile Helps
KYC compliance in Belgium requires a rigorous document verification framework, reinforced by the obligation to use reliable and independent sources such as the UBO Register and the eID. CheckFile meets these requirements with its AI-powered document verification platform, designed to integrate with Belgian compliance processes.
CheckFile's AI analyses Belgian identity documents (eID) and international documents in real time, verifying the authenticity of physical and digital security features. The solution performs automatic cross-validation between data extracted from the document, information declared by the customer, and data available in public registers (CBE, UBO Register). Document fraud attempts — eID forgery, passport counterfeiting, identity theft — are detected with an accuracy rate exceeding 99%.
To meet the audit requirements of the BNB and the CTIF, CheckFile generates a complete, timestamped audit trail for each verification, archived for the 10-year regulatory retention period required by Belgian law. API integration enables financial institutions and regulated professions to automate their onboarding process while maintaining full control over verification quality. GDPR compliance is ensured through European data hosting and automatic deletion mechanisms upon expiry of the retention period.
FAQ
What documents are required for KYC in Belgium?
For natural persons residing in Belgium, the electronic identity card (eID) is the reference document, supplemented by proof of address. The national register number is also required. For legal persons, an extract from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, coordinated articles of association, identity documents of legal representatives, and registration in the UBO Register are required. Documents must be retained for 10 years after the end of the business relationship, in accordance with the Law of 18 September 2017.
What are the penalties for KYC non-compliance in Belgium?
Administrative sanctions imposed by the BNB can reach EUR 5 million for natural persons and 10% of annual turnover for legal persons. Criminally, money laundering is punishable by up to 5 years' imprisonment and EUR 100,000 in fines. Failure to report a suspicion to the CTIF can result in a fine of up to EUR 1,250,000. Sanction decisions are made public.
How often must KYC checks be updated in Belgium?
Update frequency depends on the customer's risk profile. High-risk customers (PEPs, high-risk countries, complex structures) must be reviewed annually. Medium-risk customers are generally reviewed every 3 years and low-risk customers every 5 years. Any trigger event — change of beneficial owner, change of activity, unusual transaction — requires an immediate update. The BNB checks that files are kept up to date during on-site inspections.