The General Inspector of Financial Information (GIIF) is one of the Polish government administration authorities responsible for counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing. It plays a key role in the Polish AML/CFT system – it analyses financial information, receives certain information and notifications from obliged institutions, cooperates with other authorities and may take action in relation to suspicious transactions.
GIIF also has supervisory powers. It may verify whether obliged institutions properly perform their obligations under the Polish AML Act and, in cases provided for by law, may also impose administrative penalties. The scope of its responsibilities is primarily set out in Article 12 of the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
GIIF is not, however, the Police or the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Its role is primarily to collect and analyse information and take measures provided for under the AML system, rather than to conduct criminal proceedings.
What is GIIF?
GIIF stands for the General Inspector of Financial Information. Under the Polish AML Act, the financial intelligence authorities in Poland are:
- the minister responsible for public finance, as the supreme financial intelligence authority,
- the General Inspector of Financial Information.
The General Inspector is appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister at the request of the minister responsible for public finance. The GIIF term of office lasts 6 years. The General Inspector performs the functions of Poland’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). In carrying out these tasks, GIIF is supported by a dedicated organisational unit of the Polish Ministry of Finance – the Department of Financial Information. In practice, this means that GIIF operates between obliged institutions that collect and analyse information about customers and transactions and state authorities that may take further action where there is suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed.
What role does GIIF play in the Polish AML system?
To understand the role of GIIF, it is useful to look at the entire anti-money laundering process.
Obliged institutions conduct KYC, identify beneficial owners, assess risk, monitor relationships and analyse customer activity. If certain circumstances specified by law arise, they provide the relevant information or notifications to GIIF. GIIF may then compare the information received with other data it holds, analyse relationships and assess whether there are grounds for further action.
The process can be simplified into several stages:
obliged institution → customer or transaction analysis → information or notification to GIIF → GIIF analysis → further action by GIIF or transfer of information to the competent authority
This allows GIIF to analyse information from many different sources rather than only from an individual relationship between a customer and one institution.
What are the main responsibilities of GIIF?
The scope of the General Inspector’s responsibilities is broad. Article 12 of the Polish AML Act includes, among other things, analysing information concerning suspicious assets, procedures for blocking accounts and suspending transactions, requesting information, supervising obliged institutions, domestic and international cooperation, preparing the national risk assessment and imposing certain administrative penalties.
Analysing information related to money laundering and terrorist financing
One of GIIF’s fundamental responsibilities is to analyse information concerning assets in relation to which there is a suspicion of a connection with money laundering or terrorist financing. GIIF is not limited to a single piece of information provided by one institution. It may analyse data from various sources, identify links between persons, entities and transactions, and use information obtained through cooperation with other authorities and foreign financial intelligence units.
Requesting and exchanging information
GIIF has the authority to request information necessary to perform its statutory responsibilities. At the request of the General Inspector, an obliged institution should promptly provide or make available the information or documents it holds within the scope provided for by law. These may concern, among other things, customers, transactions carried out, assets or customer due diligence measures applied.
GIIF also exchanges information with cooperating units and foreign financial intelligence units.
Providing information to competent authorities
If an analysis gives rise to suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed, GIIF may provide the relevant authorities with information and documents supporting that suspicion. This is where the distinction between GIIF’s analytical activity and the work of law enforcement authorities becomes particularly clear. The General Inspector may establish and analyse circumstances relevant from an AML perspective, but criminal proceedings are conducted by the competent authorities, such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Preparing the national AML risk assessment
GIIF is also responsible for preparing the national assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk and the strategy for counteracting these offences. This is carried out in cooperation with, among others, cooperating units and obliged institutions. The national risk assessment is also relevant to obliged institutions themselves. It is one of the sources that should be taken into account when preparing their own AML risk assessment.
Supervising compliance with AML regulations
GIIF supervises the performance by obliged institutions of their obligations concerning counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing. This does not mean, however, that GIIF is the only authority supervising AML compliance. Depending on the type of entity, supervisory powers are also held by, among others, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, the President of the National Bank of Poland, heads of customs and tax offices and other authorities specified in the Act.
Providing AML knowledge and information
One of GIIF’s statutory responsibilities is also to provide knowledge and information concerning counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing. In practice, GIIF publishes communications, guidelines and other materials concerning, among other things, KYC, risk assessment, beneficial owners, reporting and dealing with unusual transactions.
How do obliged institutions cooperate with GIIF?
The relationship between GIIF and an obliged institution is not limited to situations in which a suspicion of money laundering arises. The Act provides for several types of information obligations.
In certain cases, obliged institutions provide GIIF with information about transactions exceeding statutory thresholds. Article 72 covers, among other things, specified deposits, withdrawals and transfers of funds exceeding the equivalent of EUR 15,000, although the provision also contains exceptions and does not apply in exactly the same way to all categories of obliged institutions.
Another obligation is to submit notifications related to suspected money laundering or terrorist financing.
Article 74 of the Polish AML Act provides that an obliged institution must notify GIIF of circumstances that may indicate suspicion that the offence of money laundering or terrorist financing has been committed. Such a notification should be submitted without delay, no later than within 2 business days from confirmation of the suspicion.
Separate rules apply where a justified suspicion concerns a specific transaction or particular assets and it may be necessary to suspend the transaction or block an account. Obliged institutions must therefore have appropriate processes in place that allow them to:
- identify situations requiring analysis,
- properly escalate suspicions,
- decide whether to submit a notification,
- provide information in the required form and within the required timeframe,
- respond to GIIF requests,
- document the course of actions taken.
Not every unusual transaction should automatically result in a notification to GIIF. The institution should first analyse the circumstances and assess them in the context of its knowledge of the customer, the customer’s activities and risk profile.
Can GIIF block an account or suspend a transaction?
Yes. The procedure for suspending a transaction or blocking an account falls within GIIF’s statutory powers. If an obliged institution develops a justified suspicion that a particular transaction or assets may be connected with money laundering or terrorist financing, it should immediately notify GIIF. After receiving such a notification, the institution generally does not carry out the specified transaction or certain transactions debiting the account for the period provided for by law.
If GIIF determines that a transaction may be connected with money laundering or terrorist financing, it may request that the transaction be suspended or the account blocked for a period not exceeding 96 hours, calculated in accordance with the rules set out in Article 86. After issuing such a request, GIIF notifies the competent public prosecutor.
Example: a financial institution identifies an unusual transaction whose nature and circumstances give rise to a justified suspicion of a connection with money laundering. The institution notifies GIIF in accordance with its procedure. After analysing the information, GIIF may request that the transaction be suspended or the account blocked and refer the matter to the competent public prosecutor.
Suspending a transaction and blocking an account are therefore intervention measures, not the standard consequence of every unusual customer activity.
Does GIIF supervise obliged institutions?
Yes. Article 130 of the Polish AML Act expressly provides that the General Inspector supervises the performance by obliged institutions of their obligations concerning counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing. The supervision may concern whether solutions described in documentation actually function in the institution’s day-to-day activities.
Relevant areas may include:
- AML risk assessment,
- AML procedure,
- the manner in which customer due diligence measures are applied,
- the KYC process,
- identification and verification of the beneficial owner,
- monitoring of relationships and transactions,
- fulfilment of information obligations,
- documentation of decisions made,
- training of persons performing AML duties.
Inspections may result from annual plans, but the regulations also allow ad hoc inspections to be carried out. Money laundering and terrorist financing risk is taken into account when planning inspections.
For this reason, preparing for an AML inspection should not involve creating documentation only after receiving notice that an inspection is about to begin. An institution should be able to demonstrate on an ongoing basis how it fulfils the obligations arising from the Act.
Is GIIF a law enforcement authority?
No. The General Inspector of Financial Information is not the Police or the Public Prosecutor’s Office and does not conduct criminal proceedings in the same manner as law enforcement authorities. The Polish Ministry of Finance expressly states that GIIF is not an authority established to prosecute criminal offences. Notifications of suspected criminal offences as such should be submitted to the Police or the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
This does not mean, however, that GIIF does not cooperate with law enforcement authorities. On the contrary, one of its statutory responsibilities is to provide authorised authorities with information and documents supporting a suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed. GIIF also cooperates with numerous domestic and foreign bodies. The distinction can therefore be simplified as follows:
GIIF analyses financial information and identifies circumstances relevant from an AML perspective, while the competent authorities carry out further activities related to the prosecution of criminal offences.
GIIF and the Polish Ministry of Finance – what is the relationship?
GIIF operates within the Polish administration responsible for the system of counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing. The Act identifies the minister responsible for public finance as the supreme financial intelligence authority and GIIF as the other financial intelligence authority. The General Inspector performs its responsibilities within the office supporting the minister responsible for public finance with the assistance of a dedicated organisational unit. This function is performed by the Department of Financial Information of the Polish Ministry of Finance.
GIIF should not, however, be treated simply as another name for the department. GIIF is an authority with its own powers arising from the Act, while the Department of Financial Information provides organisational and operational support in carrying out its responsibilities.
GIIF communications – why are they important for obliged institutions?
The Polish AML Act defines the obligations of obliged institutions, but properly applying them in practice often requires answers to more detailed questions. For this reason, GIIF communications, publications and guidelines are an important source of information. They concern, among other things:
- AML risk assessment,
- customer identification and verification,
- application of customer due diligence measures,
- discrepancies concerning beneficial owners,
- reporting information to GIIF,
- unusual transactions,
- use of third-party services,
- obligations of specific categories of obliged institutions.
GIIF communications do not replace the provisions of the Act. However, they are important from a practical perspective because they show how specific obligations are interpreted and applied by an authority responsible for a significant part of the Polish AML system.
Example: an AML procedure may define the rules for assessing a customer, but GIIF communications concerning KYC, risk assessment or unusual transactions help verify whether the institution’s approach is consistent with current expectations concerning the practical application of the regulations.
Persons responsible for AML should therefore monitor not only legislative changes, but also new communications and guidelines published by GIIF.
What does GIIF’s activity mean for an obliged institution?
From the perspective of an obliged institution, GIIF is not an authority that becomes relevant only in the event of an inspection. The relationship with GIIF is part of the day-to-day AML system. The institution should have solutions in place that allow it to:
- analyse customers and their transactions,
- identify situations requiring notification,
- properly provide required information,
- respond to GIIF requests,
- carry out internal escalation of higher-risk cases,
- document analyses and decisions made,
- update procedures in response to changes in law and positions adopted by authorities,
- demonstrate proper fulfilment of obligations during a potential inspection.
The most important point is therefore not merely to have procedures or forms in place, but to create a process that actually works – from customer identification and KYC, through risk assessment and monitoring, to an appropriate response when a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing arises.
If your organisation is an obliged institution in Poland, we can support it in organising AML and KYC processes, assessing risk, analysing beneficial owners, and preparing and updating the documentation required to properly fulfil obligations under the Polish AML Act.
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