R.W. Pressprich & Co.

U.S. Patriot Act


The USA PATRIOT Act, enacted in 2001, is designed to detect, deter, and punish terrorists in the United States and abroad. The USA PATRIOT Act imposes new anti-money laundering requirements on brokerage firms and financial institutions. By April 24, 2002, all brokerage firms were required to have new, comprehensive anti-money laundering programs.


To help you understand these efforts, we want to provide you with some information about money laundering and our steps to implement the USA PATRIOT Act.



What is money laundering?

Money laundering is the process of disguising illegally obtained money so that the funds appear to come from legitimate sources or activities. Money laundering occurs in connection with a wide variety of crimes, including illegal arms sales, drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, racketeering, and terrorism.



How big is the problem and why is it important?

The use of the U.S. financial system by criminals to facilitate terrorism or other crimes could well taint our financial markets. According to the U.S. State Department, one recent estimate puts the amount of worldwide money laundering activity at $1 trillion a year.



Our Commitment

R. W. Pressprich is committed to complying fully with all applicable laws and regulations relating to combating money laundering and any activity which facilitates the funding of terrorist or other criminal enterprises.



Our Anti-Money Laundering Policies and Procedures



Our Customer Identification Procedures for New Accounts

Government rules adopted to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing require all U.S. financial institutions to obtain, record and verify information that identifies each individual or entity that opens an account. When you open an account with or through R. W. Pressprich, we will ask you for your name and address. We will also ask for an identification number. For U.S. entities, it means your employer identification number. For non-U.S. entities, it means a taxpayer identification number. In addition, you may be required to provide identification documents as necessary to enable the Firm to verify your identity. R. W. Pressprich may also screen your name against various databases to verify your identity. All information and documentation will be treated in a manner so as to protect your privacy. R. W. Pressprich is required to verify the identity of its customers. In certain circumstances, we may not be able to open an account or conduct any transactions for you until we have obtained and verified the necessary identification information. If we have opened an account for you, we may have to restrict trading or close it if you do not supply the necessary information or documents or if we are unable to verify your identity



Bank Certification

As part of the national effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, The USA PATRIOT ACT requires U.S financial institutions to obtain certain information and certifications for accounts held by non-U.S. banks. These certifications must be obtained within 30 days of the opening of an account. If the documentation is not supplied in a timely manner, the account must be closed. Banks covered by the rule include those organized under non-U.S. law, or an agency, branch or office located outside of the U.S. of a bank. The rule does not include any non-U.S. central bank or monetary authority that functions as a central bank. Also excluded is any international financial institution or regional bank formed by treaty or international agreement.




Please return your completed certificate to:

R. W. Pressprich & Co.

452 5th Avenue, 12th Floor

New York, NY 10018

Attn: Foreign Bank Certifications