Central Bank Register of Bank Accounts
For anti-money laundering purposes, the Central Bank has, since 2023, operated a Register Of Bank Accounts and Safety Deposit Boxes called the Ireland Safe Deposit Box Bank and Payment Accounts Register, otherwise known as ISBAR.
The register identifies the holders and beneficial owners of:
- bank and payment accounts and
- safe-deposit boxes in Ireland.
for the purpose of establishing links between suspicious transactions and underlying criminal activity.
The register, operated by the Central Bank of Ireland, assists competent authorities seeking to prevent and combat Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF). The register ensures that flows of money can be properly traced to individuals, entities and illicit networks at an early stage.
Information Contained on the Register
For the purpose of bank or payment accounts the following information is maintained on the register:
IBAN, Account name, Date of account opening, Date of account closure, beneficial owners, forename, surname, date of birth and address of natural owners and if not a natural person, the name and registered address.
For the purposes of safe deposit boxes, the following information is maintained on the register:
- Lessee (natural person) – Forename and surname of the lessee, date of birth of the lessee, address of the lessee and lease period
- Lessee (not a natural person) – Name of the lessee, registered address of the lessee and lease period.
For tailored training sessions explaining more about the ISAs, please send a mail to john@jmcc.ie.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
- Our latest CPD Webinar on The Main Changes in Irish GAAP (recorded July 2024)
- Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls and Procedures Manual (March 2022) — View the table of contents
- AML Webinar (December 2023) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the latest legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion you receive a CPD certificate for attendance in your inbox.
- Letters of engagement and similar templates—Please visit our website here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items bought together.
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
