News
EU Parliament Signs Off on U.S. Interbank Data Sharing
printThe European Parliament approved a plan Thursday to allow U.S. terrorism investigators access to international interbank messaging data under a set of conditions intended to protect EU bank privacy. The vote was a final step in a yearlong process to formalize an agreement between the United States and the EU's 27 member countries after the Brussels-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) announced plans to move its U.S.-based server to Switzerland by January 2010. Under the agreement, U.S. officials will be able to access Swift messages via targeted requests that must be vetted by Europol and be pertinent to...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Two of Europe's powerhouse economies are expected to push for tougher controls to stamp out terrorist financing this month in reaction to a spate of attacks on the continent.
The European Commission will reapprove a controversial agreement to share data on terrorist financing with the United States despite criticism from EU lawmakers, according to an individual with direct knowledge of the matter.
EU lawmakers will discuss controversies later this month surrounding an agreement to share data on terrorist financing with the United States after parliamentarians Thursday called aspects of the deal "unjust."
The government of Iran and banks under its influence are increasingly using investments in foreign financial institutions as a means to circumvent sanctions, including restrictions on interbank messages, say sources.
A European Union Commission report published Thursday concluded that U.S. Treasury officials had abided by all data security provisions contained within a controversial transatlantic bank data sharing treaty.
A U.S. Treasury Department plan to increase reporting on cross-border transactions would allow federal regulators and investigators to more easily detect unregistered money remitters - if they can sift through the data.
The United States and European Union tentatively agreed Monday to a plan allowing the sharing of interbank messaging data as part of investigations into terrorism.
The rejection by the EU Parliament Thursday of a data sharing agreement with the United States is likely to leave U.S. investigators without timely access to European banking data for the second month in a row.
EU party leaders have rejected delaying a Thursday vote on an interim agreement to share European financial data with U.S. counterterrorism investigators.
The EU Council passed a controversial agreement Monday to extend the access of U.S. counterterrorism investigators to European financial data by another nine months.