Anti-Money Laundering Law
Also: AML, CJA 2010, Money Laundering Act
Ireland's anti-money-laundering legislation requires precious metal dealers to identify their customers above set cash thresholds and to report suspicious transactions.
Ireland's principal anti-money-laundering statute is the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended, which transposes the EU Anti-Money-Laundering Directives into Irish law. It applies, among many others, to traders in goods who deal in high-value items — including dealers who buy and sell precious metals, bullion and jewellery. A business that buys or sells gold, silver or other precious metals commercially is a "designated person" under the Act and must meet a series of due-diligence obligations.
Who is caught?
In the precious metals sphere the designated persons typically include:
- Gold dealers, refineries and bullion houses
- Jewellers and jewellery merchants
- Pawnbrokers and buy-back outlets for scrap gold or broken gold
- Coin dealers who trade commercially in bullion coins or collector coins
Private sellers are not themselves designated persons; the obligations fall on the commercial counterparty.
The key thresholds
| Situation | Threshold | Obligation |
|---|---|---|
| Cash transaction (traders in goods) | EUR 10,000 or more | Customer due diligence |
| Suspicion of money laundering | any amount | Suspicious transaction report to the FIU |
| Higher-risk third countries | any amount | Enhanced due diligence |
For traders in goods, the cash threshold of EUR 10,000 is the crucial figure: a cash purchase or sale at or above this amount (whether in a single operation or in linked transactions) triggers customer due-diligence obligations. This effectively ends anonymous over-the-counter cash dealing at that level, in contrast to the much lower EUR 2,000 figure that applies in Germany.
The obligations in detail
Customer due diligence (KYC – Know Your Customer):
- Identifying the customer from an official photographic identity document
- Establishing the beneficial owner (e.g. where a purchase is made through a third party)
- Obtaining information on the purpose and nature of the business relationship
- Ongoing monitoring of existing relationships
Internal controls (for larger businesses):
- Appointing a person responsible for AML compliance
- Risk assessment and internal policies
- Staff training
- Record-keeping obligations (generally five years)
Suspicious transaction reports: Where there are grounds to suspect money laundering or terrorist financing, the dealer must make a report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU Ireland), based within An Garda Siochana, and also to the Revenue Commissioners — regardless of any threshold and before completing the transaction where possible.
Consequences of breaches
Breaches of the 2010 Act can lead to significant fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. Supervision of designated persons is shared between competent authorities: the Central Bank of Ireland supervises financial institutions, while other designated persons, including many dealers in goods, fall under other competent authorities depending on the sector.
Distinction from tax rules
The AML regime is preventive legislation aimed at stopping money laundering — it says nothing about how gains from selling precious metals are taxed. Questions about the speculative holding period or the VAT exemption for investment gold are governed by separate tax law. Note: this is not tax or legal advice.
When selling precious metals, sellers should expect that a reputable dealer will ask for identification on cash transactions at or above EUR 10,000 — this is a legal requirement, not a matter of choice.
In short
Ireland's Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 obliges precious metal dealers to identify customers on cash transactions of EUR 10,000 or more and to report suspicious activity; private buyers and sellers are not directly bound but should expect their counterparty to fulfil these duties.