A European Parliamentary committee Thursday approved far-reaching changes to the EU's rules combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including an amendment that would require nations to publicize corporate owners.
Europe's biggest financial institutions are largely prepared to comply with newly proposed amendments to the EU's anti-money laundering directive, compliance officers and banking attorneys say.
The European Commission will propose two measures next week to update the EU's Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive and a primary regulation governing wire transfers, a spokesperson for the organization said Friday.
Less than two years after the passage of an anti-money laundering law, Ireland's financial regulator has found broad compliance problems at banks and other businesses, according to a regulatory official.
The European Union's commissioners asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider broadening the scope of Europe's anti-money laundering directive, lowering beneficial ownership thresholds and strengthening controls on accounts held for political figures.
British law and accounting firms are spending up to $1.5 million per year in their efforts to comply with a European anti-money laundering directive, according to an industry trade group.
Fifteen of the 27 European Union member states face further legal proceedings by the European Commission for their failure to implement the EU's Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive into their national laws.
France's highest court has overturned a law requiring lawyers to report the suspicious activities of their clients related to money laundering, a provision of the European Union's Second Money Laundering directive, which France adopted by decree in 2006.
The U.K. government, frequently criticized for interpreting European Union directives more strictly than many deem necessary or as the English say, gold-plating the rules isnt embellishing the EUs latest directive with exaggerated regulations.