The Council adopted the directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing. The directive will apply to natural or legal persons selling goods for payments in cash of Euro 15 000 or more, whether the transaction is carried out in a single operation or involve several operations. Under the new directive the member states undertake to prohibit their credit and financial institutions from keeping anonymous accounts and allow the member states to adopt stricter provisions to prevent money laundering.
The Directive takes on board the recommendations on terror financing of the OECD-based Financial Action Task Force on money-laundering and seeks to implement the recommendations of a task force on money laundering set up by the G7.
Every EU country will establish a financial intelligence unit responsible for receiving and analysing information concerning potential money laundering or terrorist financing activities. In an attached statement it is said that “when Member States are obliged under a Community act to introduce 'penalties', it is up to them to choose the appropriate type of sanction in conformity with the case law of the European Court of Justice.”
Already in July the Council also adopted a regulation providing a system for controls of cash entering and leaving the Community setting a Euro 10 000 a threshold above which natural persons will be required to declare cash when crossing the EU's external borders.
The directive will be implemented by the member states by 2007 and will also concern credit and financial institutions, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors, independent legal professionals, trust and company service providers, real estate agents and casinos. It is to be reviewed after four years.
Council press release
Statement
© Council of the European Union
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article