Europe asks for more transparency against money laundering and tax evasion, terrorist financing and infiltrations of crime organizations. After two years of negotiations between the Council and the EU Parliament, the agreement on the Fourth anti-money laundering (AMLD) has been achieved under the Italian presidency turn.
” During the negotiations the Italian presidency worked very hard in favor of the transparency ” said the Italian ambassador Stefano Sannino as soon as the agreement has been reached and it will be one of the results of the Italian term.
This represents a relevant step considering that every year the national governments are deprived of 670 billion Euros worth of revenue, according to Europol 2013 data .
Furthermore, money laundered each year amounts to 2-5% of global GDP.
From now on, every member state will be obliged to keep central registers of information on the ultimate “beneficial” owners of corporate and other legal entities, as well as trusts.
The majority of MEPs in Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees in the EU Parliament endorsed and approved the directive last week. Furthermore the MEPs also approved a deal on a draft for “transfers of funds” regulation, which aims to improve the traceability of payers and payees and their assets.
An important signal arrives also for the investigative journalism: free access to information such as the beneficial owner’s name, month and year of birth, nationality, country of residence and details of ownership. Also citizens and organizations which will demonstrate a “legitimate interest” could access the data. But any exemption to access will be possible only “on a case-by-case basis, in exceptional circumstances”.
Legitimate interest means, for example, suspected money laundering, terrorist financing and “predicate” offences that may help to finance them, such as corruption, tax crimes and fraud.
While the authorities and their financial intelligence units, without any restriction, will have free access to the central registers. “Obliged entities” such as banks conducting their “customer due diligence” duties, and the public may be subject to online registration of the person requesting it and to a fee to cover administrative costs. MEPs also added amendments to protect personal data. The text also requires banks, auditors, lawyers and casinos, among others, to be more vigilant about suspicious transactions made by their clients.
The agreement clarifies also the rules to establish the source of wealth and source of funds relating to “politically-exposed persons”, such as heads of state, members of government, supreme court judges, and members of parliaments, as well as their family members. Usually people at a higher than usual risk of corruption due to the political positions they hold.
“The new rules will provide much greater transparency of the shadowy business structures that are at the heart of money laundering schemes, as well as schemes used by businesses to avoid their tax responsibility” added Civil Liberties Committee Rapporteur Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA, NL).
Next step is the vote for the full text by the full Parliament, March or April, and by the EU Council of Ministers.
Europe asks for more transparency against money laundering and tax evasion, terrorist financing and infiltrations of crime organizations. After two years of negotiations between the Council and the EU Parliament, the agreement on the Fourth anti-money laundering (AMLD) has been achieved under the Italian presidency turn.
