Law
& order
http://zaiprotiv.info/novosti/1445-otmyvanie-deneg-eto-normaln
European
Parliament and Council negotiators agree on central registers for AML directive
17
hours ago | 1212 views | 0Source:
European Parliament
The ultimate owners of companies would
have to be listed in central registers in EU countries, accessible to people
with a "legitimate interest", such as investigative journalists and
other concerned citizens, under a deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators
on a draft EU anti-money laundering directive on Tuesday.
The rules would also
require banks, auditors, lawyers, real estate agents and casinos, among others,
to be more vigilant about suspicious transactions made by their clients.
"For years, criminals
in Europe have used the anonymity of offshore companies and accounts to obscure
their financial dealings. Creating registers of beneficial ownership will help
to lift the veil of secrecy of offshore accounts and greatly aid the fight
against money laundering and blatant tax evasion", said Economic and
Monetary Affairs Committee rapporteur Krišjānis Kariņš (EPP, LV).
"The new rules
agreed today 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).
The fourth anti-money
laundering directive (AMLD) will for the first time oblige EU member states to
maintain central registers listing information on the ultimate beneficial
owners of corporate and other legal entities, as well as trusts. These central
registers were not envisaged in the European Commission's initial proposal, but
were included by MEPs during the negotiations. The aim is to enhance
transparency, make dodgy deals harder to hide and fight money laundering and
tax crime.
The central registers
would be accessible to the competent authorities and their financial
intelligence units (without any restriction), to "obliged entities"
(such as banks conducting their "customer due diligence" duties), and
also to the public, whose access may be subject to online registration of the
person and to the payment of a fee to cover administrative costs.
"Legitimate
interest" in access
Any person or
organisation who can demonstrate a "legitimate interest", such as
investigative journalists and other concerned citizens, would also be able to
access beneficial ownership information such as the beneficial owner's name,
month and year of birth, nationality, residency and details on ownership. Any
exemption to the access provided by member states would be possible only on a
case-by-case basis in exceptional circumstances.
MEPs also inserted
several provisions in the amended AMLD text to protect personal data.
Politically-exposed
persons
The deal also
clarifies the draft rules on "politically-exposed persons", i.e.
people at a higher than usual risk of corruption due to the political positions
they hold, such as heads of state, members of government, supreme court judges,
and members of parliaments, as well as their family members.
Where there are
high-risk business relationships with such persons, additional measures should
be put in place, e.g. to establish the source of wealth and source of funds
involved.
Next steps
The deal still needs
to be endorsed by EU member states' ambassadors (COREPER) and by Parliament's
Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committees, before being put to a vote by the full Parliament next year.
Money laundered
globally each year amounts to 2-5% of global GDP.
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