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.
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.
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.
On the eve of key behind-the-scenes talks on the Fourth European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the rift over proposals for the public register of trusts has widened between the United Kingdom and Europe.
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.
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.
The EU Parliament adopted final recommendations Wednesday that would establish a public prosecutor's office and require member nations to ascertain the beneficial owners of companies incorporated within their jurisdictions.
A panel of European Union lawmakers approved plans Tuesday to harmonize definitions of corruption and money laundering throughout the bloc and ease asset seizures
A group of European Parliament members will soon weigh in on whether lawmakers should create an EU-wide police force and more closely cooperate on border security to stem financial crime, according to Bill Newton Dunn, a British lawmaker.
Despite having global standards in place for decades and financial institutions spending "an absolute fortune" on compliance, the international anti-money laundering effort is failing, according to a British official.
With an American anti-tax evasion law set to take effect and plans for another European Union directive to fight money laundering, French banks will soon have to know their clients better, according to Carolina Ceballos, a professor at the University of Strasbourg.
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.
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.