EC Warns Six EU Member States Over Money Laundering Directive

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

12 February 2004

The European Commission announced on Monday that it has sent formal requests to Italy, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Luxembourg and France regarding their failure to incorporate the Second Anti-Money Laundering Directive into their national laws.

If the member states in question fail to take action, they may be sent before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

According to the European Commission, although the Directive was adopted in December 2001 with an implementation deadline of June 2003, only Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland had the appropriate laws in place in time.

Ireland and Spain reportedly followed suit shortly afterwards, followed by Austria and the United Kingdom, with Belgian legislation currently in the pipeline.

The Directive extends the scope of the First Directive on money laundering, in particular, extending the coverage of the First Directive (which was limited to the financial sector) to a series of non-financial activities and professions that are vulnerable to misuse by money launderers.

Requirements with regard to client identification, record keeping and reporting of suspicious transactions are therefore extended under the terms of the Second Directive to external accountants and auditors, real estate agents, notaries, lawyers.

Similar requirements also apply to certain dealers in high value goods, such as precious stones and metals or works of art, and to auctioneers, whenever payment is made in cash and in an amount of EUR15 000 or more.

Recommended