One country considered high risk for money laundering and three medium-risk nations are negotiating to share company ownership records with the world's first open access, cross-border database of corporate beneficiaries, say sources.
EU lawmakers Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal that would expand beneficial ownership requirements to cover offshore trusts in efforts to prevent their misuse by tax evaders, money launderers and other financial criminals.
A plan to harmonize how EU nations define and enforce laws against money laundering could simplify compliance expectations for multinational financial institutions, say sources.
EU lawmakers seeking to strengthen the bloc's controls against financial crime beyond what is currently being considered will pitch more rigorous transparency requirements for trusts, virtual currencies, prepaid cards and bank and payment account holders.
The European Union's executive body on Tuesday proposed a host of new rules to fight money laundering and tax evasion, including plans to require nations to make corporate ownership data publicly available.
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