Operating a Clearing House

Operating a Clearing House

Operating a Clearing House means operating a facility where confirmation, clearance and/or settlement of transactions in Investments are carried out in accordance with the non-discretionary rules of the facility, under which the Person operating the facility:

becomes a Central Counterparty (“CCP”); or
provides a book-entry Securities Settlement System (“SSS”), regardless of whether or not such a Person also operates a Central Securities Depository.

General requirements

Requirements	Minimum threshold
Authorisation Fee (paid once)	125 000 USD According to AIFC Fees Rules* 5.1.1., the application may not be regarded by the AFSA as submitted, and therefore ready to be reviewed, until the fee has been paid in full. Therefore, when the application is ready for submission, please send us a completed request for invoice (please follow the link to download the form) and after that we will issue the invoice for payment. If the payment to be made by a natural person, then please provide a copy of his/her ID as well.
Registration Fee (paid once)	Registration fee is 300 USD (paid once) if you apply via the self-service portal and 500 USD (paid once) if you apply on paper via [email protected]. *AIFC Fees Rules
Supervision Fee (annually)	*AIFC Fees Rules 6.2
Prudential requirement	An Authorised Market Institution must hold the following minimum capital: an amount equal to 6 months' operational expenses; plus unless the AFSA directs otherwise, an additional amount of up to a further 6 months' operational expenses. AIFC Authorised Market* Institutions Rules 2.2.1.
Appointment of Internal and External Auditor	Required AIFC General Rules 5.5.1. AIFC Financial Services Framework Regulations 109.
Organisational structure	Appointment of a Board of Directors Appointment of approved and designated individuals (SEO, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer, MLRO) Appointment of committees within the company (Risk Committee, Investment Committee, Compliance Committee etc.)
Policies and Procedures	AML Policy Compliance Manual Compliance Monitoring Program Risk Management Policy Remuneration Policy (AIFC GEN Rules 5.3.7.) Outsourcing Policy (AIFC GEN Rules 5.2.) Business Continuity Plan/Disaster Recovery Plan (AIFC GEN Rules 5.8.4.) Conflict of Interest (AIFC GEN Rules 5.6.) Internal Audit Policy (AIFC GEN Rules 5.5.) Code of Conduct Business Rules (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 2.5.) Loss allocation Rules (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.2.3.) Credit Risk Policy (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.3.1.) Margin Rules (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.3.3.) Liquidity Risk Policy (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.3.4.) Settlement Rules (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.4.) Default Rules (AIFC Authorised Market Institutions Rules 4.6.) By clicking here* you can find guides to the minimum requirements for some policies and procedures.

Application package

Application for Market Activities

Application Approved Individual status

Application Designated Individual status

Financial projections template

Request for Invoice

Fit and Proper Questionnaire for Controllers

Supporting documents

Incorporation certificate of Parent/head office (if applicable)
Board minutes approving establishment of the AIFC entity
Résumés/CVs for Controllers that are natural persons
Résumés/CVs for the members of the Board of Directors (both executive and non-executive) as applicable
Last audited accounts (if applicable)
Last audited Group accounts (if applicable)
A shareholding chart that depicts how the applicant is related to each of its shareholders (including natural persons) and to its related entities, Subsidiaries, and head office/Branch, as applicable
An organisation chart depicting the key appointments and reporting lines and, where applicable, the reporting lines to the Group or head office
If the applicant is a start-up evidence of source of funds
Evidence, such as non-binding letters of engagement, to support the applicant’s revenue-stream estimations in the financial projections
If the applicant is a start-up, a copy of the Shareholders’ agreement
Copies of any Board and management committees’ terms of reference
A copy of each Controller’s Kazakhstani ID card (if a Kazakhstani citizen or resident)
A copy of each Controller’s passport (for non-Kazakhstani citizens)
If your Parent is regulated in another jurisdiction provide a copy of its regulatory licence. It must include any restrictions or conditions
List of above-mentioned policies and procedures
Market Making Agreements

*Under AIFC Financial Services Framework Regulations 31 (5), the AFSA may require the applicant to provide additional information reasonably required for the AFSA to be able to decide the application.