Even with the parliamentary passage of the EU's anti-money laundering directive last month, tough debates lie ahead for the economic bloc's plans to better identify financial criminals, say observers.
The expected approval of amendments to the EU's proposed Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive will shine greater light on tax evaders and financial criminals hiding behind shell companies and trusts, according to Judith Sargentini, a Dutch member of the European Parliament.
European parliamentary members are set to require countries to publish registries naming the beneficial owners of privately-held corporations and trusts as part of a broad overhaul to the EU's anti-money laundering rules.
An EU plan approved Thursday that could force banks in member-states to open accounts for most applicants would complicate anti-money laundering compliance efforts, according to critics.
A panel of European Union lawmakers approved plans Tuesday to harmonize definitions of corruption and money laundering throughout the bloc and ease asset seizures
Ongoing negotiations between the United States and European Union on a broad data-sharing arrangement will likely be complicated following the leaked disclosure this month of a transnational American surveillance program.
A plan to require member-states of the European Union to automatically exchange tax-related data in an effort to boost government revenues is likely to face political and logistical challenges.
European Union officials discussed plans Tuesday to cooperate with a U.S. law aimed at tax evaders, and the expected introduction of a new model agreement for related, reciprocal data exchanges.
Europe's biggest financial institutions are largely prepared to comply with newly proposed amendments to the EU's anti-money laundering directive, compliance officers and banking attorneys say.
The European Commission unveiled proposals Tuesday for a Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive that would require greater disclosures of beneficial ownership and increased scrutiny of domestic politicians, among other changes.
The European Commission will propose two measures next week to update the EU's Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive and a primary regulation governing wire transfers, a spokesperson for the organization said Friday.
Ongoing efforts by European Union's Parliament to crack down on financial crime and tax evasion will be complicated by free trade agreements with Latin American nations, according to Jurgen Klute, an EU lawmaker.
U.S. Treasury Department officials are weighing whether to exempt trusts and offer more flexibility on verification requirements in an upcoming proposal that would impose data collection duties on corporate accounts held at banks.
EU sanctions imposed against Iran earlier this month will likely further sever the Persian nation's few remaining ties to the continent's financial sector, including trade finance deals, say industry consultants.
Over a year after outlining alternatives to a controversial U.S.-EU bank data-sharing arrangement, European Union leaders have yet to disclose how they would give American terrorism investigators access to sensitive financial information.
Europe's financial intelligence units are asking the European Commission for uniformity in their ability to suspend suspicious transactions under a forthcoming anti-money laundering directive, a Dutch official said Monday.
Compliance with beneficial ownership standards will be one of the top priorities for Financial Action Task Force examiners during the group's next round of jurisdictional reviews, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
Plans to harmonize pan-European debit and credit payments under a single zone may be slowed by retail banks struggling to pay for the changes, say industry sources.
Rules intended to collect data on offshore American assets will be most greatly softened for financial institutions in five European nations, the U.S. Treasury Department proposed Wednesday.
The Financial Action Task Force is weighing whether to ask jurisdictions to loosen their privacy laws and require companies to retain data on their owners, among other changes to the group's standards.