Variances in data-protection rules from country to country are impeding EU investigations of politicos with secret offshore holdings as documented by the Panama Papers, European lawmakers heard Thursday.
A proposed expansion of the European Union's due diligence rules to cover trusts only partially addresses their vulnerability to criminal exploitation, leaving long-term loopholes in the bloc's controls against tax evasion and money laundering intact, say sources.
A panel of European Union lawmakers Tuesday proposed requiring the bloc's member-states to share information on firms and trusts whose beneficial owners are required to pay taxes in other member-states.
As the EU nears final adoption of its latest anti-money laundering directive, questions remain over how nations and companies will implement the plan, the head of an industry advisory group said Thursday.
Ahead of Tuesday's debate on the provisions of the EU's Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, German banks' challenges include identifying transactions connected to terrorism and conducting CDD on beneficial owners, according to a senior German official.
European Union leaders Tuesday outlined steps beyond the finalization of the bloc's latest anti-money laundering directive to stem the financial networks of terror groups, promising more regulation to come.
EU representatives are set to advance proposals Wednesday that would require member-states to collect more data on beneficial owners, better scrutinize the finances of politicians and harmonize cross-border wire rules.
Factions within the European Union reached a compromise Tuesday on the terms of the long-awaited Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, including provisions to create central registers on the ultimate beneficial owners of corporate and other legal entities, as well as trusts in every member state.
As European Union leaders negotiate a final version of the bloc's latest anti-money laundering directive, questions remain on how its proponents will overcome legal and political hurdles to its implementation.
Even with the parliamentary passage of the EU's anti-money laundering directive last month, tough debates lie ahead for the economic bloc's plans to better identify financial criminals, say observers.
European Union nations must harmonize their asset forfeiture and property confiscation laws to comply with a directive adopted Friday by leaders of the economic bloc.
EU parliamentarians voted Tuesday to require member-states to update their laws targeting money launderers and the financiers of terrorism, in part by naming corporate owners.
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.
The expected approval of amendments to the EU's proposed Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive will shine greater light on tax evaders and financial criminals hiding behind shell companies and trusts, according to Judith Sargentini, a Dutch member of the European Parliament.
European parliamentary members are set to require countries to publish registries naming the beneficial owners of privately-held corporations and trusts as part of a broad overhaul to the EU's anti-money laundering rules.
An EU plan approved Thursday that could force banks in member-states to open accounts for most applicants would complicate anti-money laundering compliance efforts, according to critics.
A panel of European Union lawmakers approved plans Tuesday to harmonize definitions of corruption and money laundering throughout the bloc and ease asset seizures
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 unveiled proposals Tuesday for a Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive that would require greater disclosures of beneficial ownership and increased scrutiny of domestic politicians, among other changes.
Europe's financial intelligence units are asking the European Commission for uniformity in their ability to suspend suspicious transactions under a forthcoming anti-money laundering directive, a Dutch official said Monday.