A new money laundering Directive has been given the final seal
of approval by the EU’s Council of Ministers. The Directive aims to
stamp out the financing of terrorism and organised crime and widens
the scope of the current money laundering regime to combat the
proceeds of all serious crime. Previously, the Directive only
covered the proceeds of drugs offences.
Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said: "the EU is
setting a new world standard in the fight against the financing of
terrorism and organised crime.”
The new regime will extend the category of bodies who will be
responsible for “suspicious transaction” reporting from those in
financial sector to a series of non-financial activities and
professions that are vulnerable to misuse by money launderers.
Requirements as regards client identification, record keeping and
reporting of suspicious transactions are therefore extended to
external accountants and auditors, real estate agents, notaries,
lawyers, dealers in high value goods such as precious stones and
metals or works of art, auctioneers, transporters of funds and
casinos.
Ensuring that provisions are made to ensure adequate customer
identification is an issue particularly pertinent when no face-to
face customer contact is made, as in on-line banking or other forms
of e-commerce.
Member States have a period of eighteen months in order to
implement the Directive and make it law.
