The EU Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees have voted to agree further amendments to the EU anti-money laundering directive, which would allow EU citizens to access registers of beneficial owners of companies without having to demonstrate a ‘legitimate interest’. The directive will also cover trusts and ‘other types of legal arrangements having a structure or functions similar to trusts’, meaning trusts will have to meet the full transparency requirements of firms, including the need to identify beneficial owners.
Virtual currency platforms and custodian wallet providers will also be subject to the same controls as banks and other payment institutions. The threshold for identifying the holders of prepaid cards is to be lowered from €250 to €150.
The committees were voting on the Council’s draft of the amended anti-money-laundering directive, agreed in December 2016 for presentation to Parliament. The proposals form part of the Commission’s action plan against terrorist financing, announced in February 2016, as well as a response to the ‘Panama papers’ revelations.
The EU Parliament as a whole must now give the go ahead in the March plenary session for MEPs to start three-way talks with the Commission and Council. See http://bit.ly/2lQRNij.
The EU Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees have voted to agree further amendments to the EU anti-money laundering directive, which would allow EU citizens to access registers of beneficial owners of companies without having to demonstrate a ‘legitimate interest’. The directive will also cover trusts and ‘other types of legal arrangements having a structure or functions similar to trusts’, meaning trusts will have to meet the full transparency requirements of firms, including the need to identify beneficial owners.
Virtual currency platforms and custodian wallet providers will also be subject to the same controls as banks and other payment institutions. The threshold for identifying the holders of prepaid cards is to be lowered from €250 to €150.
The committees were voting on the Council’s draft of the amended anti-money-laundering directive, agreed in December 2016 for presentation to Parliament. The proposals form part of the Commission’s action plan against terrorist financing, announced in February 2016, as well as a response to the ‘Panama papers’ revelations.
The EU Parliament as a whole must now give the go ahead in the March plenary session for MEPs to start three-way talks with the Commission and Council. See http://bit.ly/2lQRNij.
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