Money Laundering Act (MLA)

With the following information, Michael Heinze-Immobilien would like to inform you about the obligations of real estate brokers according to the MLA:

I. When does the broker need to identify his contract partner?
The real estate broker must determine the identity of the customer before completing a brokerage contract. The conclusion of a brokerage agreement can be made verbally or in writing, whereby the Ring German broker LV Berlin and Brandenburg e.V. explicitly recommends to conclude the brokerage contract in writing.

II. What information must the broker document from his contract partner?
1. Identification for natural persons:

  • Name (surname and at least a first name)
  • Place of birth and date of birth
  • nationality

  • Address (no mailboxes)
  • official ID in the original
  • (Personal ID or passport only)
  • ID

  • Issuing authority
  • Economically entitled person

 

Special case:
If the contractual partner is not present in person, the identity can be proved by means of a certified extracting document or, for example, by the Deutsche Post Postident procedure.

2. Identification of legal entities and partnerships:

  • Name / title of the legal person or company
  • Legal form (example: GmbH, AG, KG, e.V., OHG “.)
  • Register number (if available)
  • Address of head office or branch office
  • Names of the members of the representative body or the legal representatives (e.g., managing director, board of directors)
  • Economic beneficiaries (only natural persons of a company with more than 25% of the shares, no natural persons must be mentioned in listed companies)

 

Special case:
If one of the aforementioned members is itself a legal entity (eg the GmbH at a GmbH & Co. KG), this name, legal form, registration number and address must also be collected.

III. Clarification of the background of the business relationship
The real estate broker is also obliged to obtain information on the purpose and the desired type of business relationship, as long as this is not already free of doubt in the individual case.

IV. Continuous monitoring of the business relationship
If the business relationship with a contract partner continues for a certain time, the real estate broker must recheck the data provided.

V. Politically exposed persons
If the contracting party is a so-called PEP, H. a person who has exercised or exercised an important public office, as well as their dependents and the PEP, as well as known persons, then more due diligence obligations apply:

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  • Prior to establishing a business relationship, the supervisor’s consent must be obtained.

  • Information on the origin of the funds must be determined.
  • For long-term business relations, these must be monitored continuously.

 

The PEP does not, however, include persons exercising a public office in Germany or as elected members of the European Parliament. Examples for PEPs are Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Ambassadors, High Court Officers, Military Officers, and Governors of State Enterprises.

VI. Documentation of detection and retention
The data collected must be kept for at least 5 years (beginning with the end of the calendar year).