The US Patriot Act was established on 26 October 2001, as a result of the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax attacks made during the same year, aiming to strengthen national security and combat foreign terrorism.
Main target of the US Patriot Act is to prevent terroristic attacks in the US and around the world, and to strengthen law enforcement investigatory tools. Its main purposes include, among others, the following:
- To strengthen the measures for the prevention, detection and prosecution of money laundering and terrorism financing.
- To subject to special scrutiny foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions and international transaction classes or types of accounts that are susceptible to criminal abuse.
- To require all appropriate elements of the financial services industry to report potential money laundering.
- To strengthen measures to prevent use of the U.S. financial system for personal gain by corrupt foreign officials and facilitate repatriation of stolen assets to the citizens of countries to whom such assets belong.
In the context of holding “Correspondent Banking Accounts” with financial institutions headquartered in the US, NBG, as a “Foreign Bank” has completed the compliance certificate of the US Patriot Act. The “Certification Regarding Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Banks” can be used by financial institutions or financial organizations that are headquartered in the US and hold or wish to enter into a correspondent relationship with NBG or its Branches abroad.