On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committees approved tougher rules to strengthen the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion in the European Union (EU).
These proposals focus on :
- Data quality
- Better access to information for national authorities and competent bodies
- On cross-border cooperation throughout the EU
Collaboration, sharing and cooperation between member states
All member states must set up a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to prevent, report and combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
FIUs will have to share information with each other and with competent authorities, and cooperate with AMLA, Europol, Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Beneficial Owners
The Beneficial Owners registers will be improved and the use of other existing registers, namely those covering real estate, land, boats, aircraft and vehicles, will be facilitated.
Following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the SOVIM case limiting access to the registers of Beneficial Owners, MEPs have proposed clear and transparent rules for access to the registers for persons or entities with a legitimate interest, such as journalists, the media, civil society organizations, educational establishments and all entities subject to the law.
Finally, the information on Beneficial Owners contained in the national central registers will have to be available in digital form, in an official EU language and in English, and include current and past information for a given period.
It was also clarified that beneficial ownership meant owning 15% plus one share, or voting rights, or other direct or indirect holdings, or 5% plus one share in the extractive industry or a business exposed to a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.
AMLA: Anti Money Laundering Agency
Or in French: Autorité européenne de lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent.
The AMLA will promote the adoption of high standards, convergence and the creation of a common culture among national supervisory authorities. It will ensure coordination between the various national supervisory authorities and financial intelligence units.
With these authorities, the EU will move from an interventionist approach to one of enforcement, where it can crack down!
And Cocorico! France is bidding to host the AMLA in Paris!
Towards a new category of politically exposed persons and entities?
While France has just published a definition of a national PEP, MEPs have raised the possibility of extending the functions considered politically exposed: officials in regional and local authorities, including communities of communes and metropolitan regions with at least 30,000 inhabitants, will be covered by the new rules.
On the subject of taxable persons, MEPs also want to cover more entities, such as top-level professional soccer teams, sports agents, property developers, wealth or asset managers, and people trading in luxury goods.
In any case, by harmonizing legislation across the European Union, and stepping up surveillance of sectors and individuals particularly prone to money laundering, MEPs are hoping to stem the flow of dirty money on our Continent.
European Parliament press release: https: //www.europarl.europa.eu/news/fr/press-room/20230327IPR78511/nouvelles-mesures-de-l-ue-contre-le-blanchiment-et-le-financement-du-terrorisme
