EU

Fighting Crime / Fighting Money Laundering

The City of London and financial services in the UK are one of the biggest targets for money laundering outfits, whose aim is often to fund terrorism.

A far tougher EU directive on money laundering replaced the existing rules in December 2007. The “know your customer” requirements apply to a broad range of service providers, from the financial sector to estate agents, from lawyers to casinos.

Any cash payment exceeding €15,000 for goods will now also be covered.

Obligations include verifying the customer’s identity and that of anyone they may be acting on behalf of, reporting any suspicious activity to national authorities and ensuring adequate training of staff.

Each Member State is required to set up a domestic financial intelligence unit (FIU). It is responsible for receiving, requesting, analysing and disseminating to the competent authorities disclosures of information that concern potential money laundering or potential terrorist financing.