# VSB 20 Art. 45 — Point in time for fulfilling the duty to document - **Rubric (DE):** Zeitpunkt der Erfüllung der Dokumentationspflicht - **Rubric (EN):** Point in time for fulfilling the duty to document - **Chapter:** 5. Kapitel — Delegation und Überwachungsvorschriften (2. Abschnitt: Dokumentationspflichten) - **Scope:** Banks & securities firms (incorporated via [[GwV-FINMA Art. 35 - Identification, controlling person and beneficial|GwV-FINMA Art. 35]]) - **Status:** In force (since 1 January 2020) ## Description Before an account may be used, all documents required for the identification of the contracting partner, the establishment of the controlling person (*Kontrollinhaber*) and the establishment of the beneficial owner must be complete and in proper form (Abs. 1). An account counts as opened at the moment when it is technically possible to post entries to it; while it remains blocked and no credits or debits can be posted, it counts as not yet opened (Abs. 2). Exceptionally, where necessary so as not to interrupt the ordinary course of business, an account may be used if only individual details or documents are missing or in improper form and this appears appropriate on a risk-based assessment; sufficient details on the identity of the contracting partner and the beneficial owner or controlling person must be ensured (Abs. 3). The missing items must be obtained as soon as possible, at the latest within 30 days after account opening; otherwise the bank blocks the relationship for all credits and debits and decides on a risk basis how to proceed. The relationship must in any case be terminated if the missing items cannot be obtained. Art. 9 ff. GwG take precedence (Abs. 4). ## Context & interpretation The SBA commentary states that an account counts as usable from the time entries can be posted, that the bank must be able to prove the blocking, and that it is not enough that the account was in fact not used. It states that Abs. 3 and 4 were tightened following FATF criticism, that the conditions of Abs. 3 are cumulative, and that the risk assessment is to be documented. For mandates to manage assets held with third parties, it states that after 30 days the management is suspended and/or the mandate terminated instead of the account being blocked. ## FATF - [[FATF R.10 - Customer due diligence|FATF R.10]] — related: documents for identifying the customer and the beneficial owner must be complete before account use, with a limited exception, and the relationship is terminated if they cannot be obtained. ## Swiss counterparts - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 55 - Failure to identify contracting party|GwV-FINMA Art. 55]] — Abs. 1: documents to identify the contracting party must be complete before transactions are executed; Abs. 2: refuse or terminate if identification is not possible. Art. 55 contains no counterpart to the exception in VSB Art. 45 Abs. 3–4. - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 68 - Failure to establish controlling person|GwV-FINMA Art. 68]] — Abs. 1: the same completeness requirement for the documents on the controlling person or beneficial owner; Art. 68 itself contains no exception (for cash transactions see GwV-FINMA Art. 56 Abs. 5). - [[GwG Art. 9 - Duty to report (to MROS)|GwG Art. 9]] — VSB Art. 45 Abs. 4 provides that Art. 9 ff. GwG take precedence over it; Art. 9 GwG sets the reporting duty. - [[VSB 20 Art. 44 - Duty to ensure documentation|VSB 20 Art. 44]] — the SBA commentary links the blocking proof to the duty to ensure (*Sicherstellungspflicht*). - [[VSB 20 Art. 43 - Delegation of identification duties|VSB 20 Art. 43]] — the SBA commentary states that, where another group unit performs the identification under Art. 43, the decisive point in time for the documentation duty is when the necessary documentation is available at that unit. ## Part of - [[VSB 20]] ## Further AMLR connections - [[AMLR Art. 21 - Inability to comply with CDD|AMLR Art. 21]] — VSB Art. 45 Abs. 4 requires blocking the account if missing identification documents are not obtained within 30 days, and terminating the relationship if they cannot be supplied. *(direct)* - [[AMLR Art. 23 - Timing of verification|AMLR Art. 23]] — VSB Art. 45 requires the identification, controlling-person and beneficial-owner documents to be complete before an account may be used, with a risk-based exception for missing details, a 30-day cure period and blocked accounts counting as unopened; it parallels the timing rules of AMLR Art. 23(1)-(3) but is framed as completeness of documentation, not verification. *(direct)* ## Sources - VSB 20 (Vereinbarung vom 13. Juni 2018, in force 1.1.2020), Art. 45 - SBVg Kommentar zur VSB 20 (2020), Art. 45