News
For AML Directive Proposal, Europe Still Has Questions to Answer
By Vanya Dragomanovich
printAs 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. In March, the European Parliament approved an amended version of the European Commission's proposed Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which if adopted would require member-states to maintain public registers naming beneficial owners of companies and trusts and ensure that nonbank entities, including casinos and attorneys, report suspicious transactions by their customers. The directive would also order financial institutions to more closely monitor domestic political figures, high-court judges and heads of state....
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
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.
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.
The European Council adopted a directive Wednesday ordering member-states to lessen bank resistance to account applicants from other EU nations as part of an initiative to foster cross-border hiring.
European Union nations may still have to name the owners of corporations but they won't necessarily do so publicly, under the economic bloc's latest iteration of an anti-money laundering proposal.
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.
EU nations may soon require banks to turn away fewer account applicants, and justify when they do, after the economic bloc's lawmakers adopted a directive meant to foster cross-border hiring.
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.
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.
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.
A European Union bill that places anti-money laundering requirements on offshore investment vehicles and drafts their national regulators to certify the funds' compliance with EU laws was approved Monday.