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Compliance by Country

Germany: onboarding obligations and AML controls

Align onboarding, sanctions screening, and case operations in Federal Republic of Germany. AutoKYC unifies multi-provider KYC, KYB, and AML tooling with privacy-by-design audit trails and managed analyst services.

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Core regulatory expectations

Customer due diligence
The German Anti-Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz – GwG) obliges obligated entities to identify customers, determine beneficial ownership, and assess risk before establishing a business relationship. BaFin guidance requires risk-based verification, video-identification standards, and screening against multiple AML data sources.
Politically exposed persons
Politically exposed persons include individuals entrusted with prominent public functions domestically or abroad, their family members, and close associates as defined in §1(12) GwG. Enhanced measures apply for state-level officials, federal parliamentarians, supervisory board members of state-owned enterprises, and EU institution leadership.
Record retention
Record-keeping under §8 GwG and §12 GwG requires retaining identification data, supporting documents, and transaction records for five years after the end of the business relationship, with secure deletion afterwards unless other laws require retention.

Sanctions and watchlist coverage

AutoKYC’s sanctions engine can orchestrate risk-based screening across primary authorities required in Germany.

How AutoKYC operationalises these controls

KYC Orchestration Platform

Design multi-provider identity journeys with regulator-approved remote identification, tiered fallbacks, and privacy-safe audit trails tailored to Germany.

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Sanctions & AML Monitoring

Screen against EU, UN, and domestic sanctions authorities with rules-based escalation, risk scoring, and immutable audit logs for Federal Republic of Germany.

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Managed Onboarding & Case Ops

Delegate onboarding, periodic reviews, ODD/EDD, and escalation workflows to AutoKYC specialists operating from ISO 27001 certified facilities.

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Regulatory references

Maintain documented evidence for auditors and regulators. Link your policies to primary sources listed below.

Frequently asked questions

Use these answers to align product, compliance, and operations teams on local obligations.

What identification methods are accepted by German regulators? #1
BaFin accepts in-person, postal, and video identification methods that comply with BaFin video ID circulars, plus qualified electronic signatures when issued under eIDAS.
How should beneficial owners be verified in Germany? #2
Obligated entities must compare customer declarations with entries in the Transparenzregister and apply risk-based corroboration such as corporate registries or notarised documents.
When is ongoing due diligence triggered? #3
Events such as changes in ownership, unusual transaction patterns, or periodic risk reviews mandated by the institution’s risk assessment require updated CDD under §10 GwG.