Dear Vendor/Customer,
The United States Department of the Treasury has recently issued new regulations under the USA Patriot Act that require the diamond and jewelry industry, among others, to implement Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programs. The reason for the inclusion of our industry is that we deal with an easily transportable valuable product that lends itself to abuse by the few who seek to endanger our national security.
The Treasury Department, which is mandated to enforce the law, has published regulations that become effective on January 1, 2006, and affect all of us in the industry. These laws require us to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person or entity that we do business within the industry so that we may be protected from such abuses of the few.
In an effort to update our current file and comply with the new regulations, we ask that you fill out the attached form and return it to us within five (5) days.
An additional requirement of the new law is an appointment of a compliance officer. Dev Javeri has been elected as our compliance officer and will be available to assist you if you have any questions. He can be reached at (213) 689-3237 or by email at Dev@OrchidGems.com.
If you need any further information on the law itself or on the regulations and how they affect your business, you can obtain it from the U.S. Treasury website (http://www.fincen.gov Contact: William J. Fox, Director). Industry Trade Associations such as the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (http://www.jvclegal.org Contact: Cecilia Gardner, President), Jewelers of America (http://jewelers.org Contact Matthew A. Runci, President and CEO), and the American Gem Society (http://www.ags.org Contact Ruth Batson, Executive Director, and CEO)
We appreciate the business relationship we have formed together and feel confident that we can work together to ensure that these new compliance regulations can be met at a minimal amount of inconvenience to your company. Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.
Please note by signing below, you are agreeing that you follow all Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines and are following laws and ethical business practices required by the US government for now and in the future.