The PATRIOT Act’s new rules for the jewelry industry, which will require many industry members to establish anti-money-laundering programs, begin this month.

According to the rules, all affected companies should have anti-money-laundering programs in place beginning Jan. 1.

“The PATRIOT Act will affect many people in the industry,” says Cecilia Gardner, executive director of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee. “It is not voluntary; it is required. However, compliance is easy.”

Gardner notes that most of the affected companies will be wholesalers, while many small retailers will be exempt from its provisions. Still, she says, JVC “urges every jeweler to find out about it, as some retailers will have to comply.”

A company is affected if it purchases more than $50,000 of covered goods (jewelry, precious metals, precious stone, and finished goods) from non-U.S. dealers or members of the public and sells more than $50,000 of those goods. Trade-ins are exempt from the $50,000 threshold.

Affected companies must set up a program that includes an assessment of the risk of being exploited for money laundering, another program based on that risk assessment, a compliance officer to implement the program, employee training, and a way to test the program.

More information and a USA PATRIOT Act Compliance Kit are available at jvclegal.org.