The European Union is failing to exploit valuable financial intelligence on terrorism and organized crime because of poor staffing in government bureaus and inadequate information sharing across borders, officials told parliamentarians.
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.
European Union nations must harmonize their asset forfeiture and property confiscation laws to comply with a directive adopted Friday by leaders of the economic bloc.
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.
The EU Parliament adopted final recommendations Wednesday that would establish a public prosecutor's office and require member nations to ascertain the beneficial owners of companies incorporated within their jurisdictions.
A group of European Parliament members will soon weigh in on whether lawmakers should create an EU-wide police force and more closely cooperate on border security to stem financial crime, according to Bill Newton Dunn, a British lawmaker.
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.
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.
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.
The European Union's commissioners asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider broadening the scope of Europe's anti-money laundering directive, lowering beneficial ownership thresholds and strengthening controls on accounts held for political figures.
The disclosure that U.S. officials have solicited and directly received data from foreign banks on transactions tied to Iran is spurring talks among European lawmakers, according to Alexander Alvaro, an EU Parliament supervisor.
A European Union plan to detect terrorist financing by allowing investigators access to financial messaging information has met strong opposition from European lawmakers concerned about data privacy rights and budgetary constraints.