GIFT City AML, KYC, and compliance frameworks.
Regulator-ready policies, controls, and monitoring frameworks for IFSC entities — designed to meet IFSCA, FATF, and group-level expectations from Day One, and to operate cleanly through audit, due diligence, and ongoing supervision.
AML, KYC, and compliance infrastructure for IFSC entities.
Firms operating in GIFT City IFSC are expected to maintain robust anti-money laundering, KYC, transaction monitoring, governance, and compliance control frameworks aligned with IFSCA regulations and international standards.
Regulatory expectations continue beyond licence approval. Businesses must demonstrate clear onboarding procedures, risk-based controls, sanctions screening, recordkeeping, escalation protocols, audit readiness, and ongoing compliance monitoring from the outset.
AxiomSync supports IFSC entities in designing and implementing regulator-ready compliance frameworks tailored to their operating model, business activities, customer risk profile, and group governance requirements.
The approach is practical, documentation-led, and built to withstand regulatory review, internal audit scrutiny, investor due diligence, and ongoing supervisory engagement.
Built for IFSC entities requiring regulator-ready AML and compliance frameworks.
AxiomSync supports financial institutions, regulated entities, fintech businesses, and international groups operating within the GIFT City IFSC ecosystem.
FMEs & AIF Structures
Fund Management Entities and Alternative Investment Fund schemes operating under Category I, II, and III frameworks.
Fintech & Digital Asset Businesses
Fintech platforms, payment service providers, and digital asset businesses operating in IFSC.
IFSC Banking Units
IFSC Banking Units and internal compliance functions managing cross-border financial activity.
Insurance & Reinsurance Entities
Insurance offices, reinsurance entities, and regulated intermediaries within GIFT City.
Capital Markets Intermediaries
Broker-dealers, custodians, investment advisers, and capital markets participants regulated by IFSCA.
Finance & Leasing Platforms
Finance companies, aircraft lessors, ship lessors, ITFS platforms, and GRCTCs.
Family Offices & Investment Vehicles
Family offices and family investment funds requiring institutional-grade compliance governance.
TechFin & Ancillary Service Firms
TechFin, Ancillary, BATF entities, and Global In-House Centres operating in IFSC.
International Corporate Groups
Cross-border groups aligning GIFT City entities with global AML, KYC, and compliance standards.
Practical AML, KYC, and compliance frameworks for IFSC entities.
From AML policy drafting and onboarding controls to governance, monitoring, testing, and operational implementation, AxiomSync supports the full compliance lifecycle.
AML and CFT framework design
We prepare AML and CFT policies tailored to the licence category, business model, and client base — covering risk-based approach, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, sanctions screening, politically exposed persons handling, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, and record-keeping.
Frameworks are aligned to IFSCA expectations and FATF Recommendations, with clearly defined ownership across all compliance controls.
KYC policies and onboarding standards
We draft KYC frameworks covering individual, corporate, institutional, and trust-based investors, including non-face-to-face onboarding for cross-border clients.
This includes documentation standards, verification protocols, source-of-funds and source-of-wealth requirements, and periodic review cycles.
Risk assessments
We conduct and support entity-level and customer-level money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments.
This includes business risk assessments, geographic risk overlays, product risk profiling, channel risk analysis, and documented risk registers for regulator interaction.
Compliance manuals and operational policies
Beyond AML and KYC, we prepare the wider policy stack expected of regulated entities — compliance manuals, conflicts policies, outsourcing frameworks, complaints handling, whistleblowing, and information security policies.
Documentation is structured to support internal governance, audit readiness, and supervisory review.
Governance and reporting design
We design the governance architecture, including board and committee structures, MLRO reporting lines, compliance officer responsibilities, and escalation procedures.
The framework also defines periodic reporting cadence to management, parent groups, and regulators.
Monitoring and testing logic
We build practical monitoring frameworks covering review frequency, control ownership, exception escalation, and testing methodology.
This includes transaction monitoring logic, sample-based file reviews, and annual compliance testing plans supporting independent oversight.
Implementation and training support
We help operationalise the framework through practical implementation support, staff training, walkthrough sessions, and first-cycle monitoring assistance.
The objective is to ensure the compliance function operates effectively, consistently, and regulator-ready from Day One.
A structured AML and compliance engagement lifecycle.
AxiomSync engagements follow a clear four-stage model, covering assessment, framework design, implementation, and ongoing review support.
Diagnostic and risk assessment
Map the business model, client base, products, and geographies. Identify applicable IFSCA requirements and any FATF or parent-group expectations that must be embedded into the framework.
Framework design and drafting
Develop an integrated policy stack including AML/CFT, KYC, risk assessments, governance structures, and monitoring logic — designed as a single coordinated compliance architecture.
Implementation and training
Train internal teams, operationalise compliance controls, configure monitoring workflows, and support the first reporting and review cycle to ensure practical execution.
Ongoing review and uplift
Periodically review and update frameworks, refresh risk assessments, incorporate regulatory changes, and support audits, due diligence, and regulator interactions.
Where cross-border compliance thinking matters most.
Compliance frameworks for GIFT City entities are often reviewed by multiple stakeholders — correspondent banks, custodians, fund administrators, investor due diligence teams, and parent-group compliance functions across jurisdictions such as the UAE, Europe, and other financial centres.
A framework that satisfies IFSCA alone is not enough. It must also withstand scrutiny from global counterparties, investor onboarding teams, and institutional compliance reviews that operate under different regulatory expectations.
AxiomSync brings a cross-border perspective informed by the wider 10 Leaves group’s experience advising on regulatory authorisations and compliance frameworks across DIFC, ADGM, Luxembourg, and Mauritius — including early advisory work in emerging areas such as digital assets and fintech regulation.
This perspective directly influences how we design GIFT City compliance frameworks — ensuring they are not only regulator-ready for IFSCA, but also robust enough to pass multi-jurisdictional due diligence, banking review, and investor scrutiny.
Key financial centres
Frequently asked questions about IFSCA authorisations.
IFSCA-regulated entities are required to maintain documented AML and CFT frameworks aligned with IFSCA's guidelines and FATF Recommendations. This includes a risk-based approach to onboarding, ongoing customer due diligence, sanctions and PEP screening, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, and record-keeping for prescribed retention periods. The exact scope depends on the licence category.
Most regulated categories require an appropriately qualified Principal Officer, Compliance Officer, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. The specific requirements vary by framework — for example, an Authorised FME has different KMP requirements than a Registered FME (Retail) — and are typically confirmed during the licensing stage. AxiomSync helps clients structure these roles and prepare appropriate role-specific documentation.
Parent-group policies are a useful starting point, but they almost always need to be adapted to reflect IFSCA's specific expectations, the GIFT City entity's risk profile, and Indian regulatory context. We typically design a GIFT City framework that is consistent with the parent-group standard but can stand on its own under IFSCA review.
Entity-level risk assessments are typically refreshed annually or whenever there is a material change in business model, products, geographies, or client base. Customer-level risk reviews are conducted on an ongoing basis as part of CDD cycles, with enhanced reviews triggered by specific risk factors.
IFSCA's supervisory work focuses on whether documented policies are actually being implemented — including evidence of risk assessments, KYC files, transaction monitoring outputs, board reporting, training records, and the MLRO function. A framework that exists on paper but cannot be evidenced in practice will not pass scrutiny.
Practical intelligence for GIFT City firms.
AML/KYC Requirements in GIFT City — A Practical Handbook
A working guide to the AML and KYC obligations that apply to IFSCA-regulated entities and how to operationalise them.
Read more →
The Compliance Calendar Every GIFT City Entity Should Have
A practical view of the recurring filings, reviews, and reporting that follow IFSCA authorisation.
Read more →
Parent-Group vs IFSCA-Specific Policies — Where the Differences Matter
Why importing parent-group AML policies wholesale can create issues, and how to bridge the gap properly.
Read more →Building or reviewing your GIFT City compliance framework?
Whether you are preparing for authorisation, putting Day-One frameworks in place, or reviewing an existing framework before audit or inspection, AxiomSync can help you design and operationalise a regulator-ready compliance environment.