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EU sues Austria, Belgium, Netherlands over anti-money laundering rules

The European Commission said on Thursday it was suing Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands because the three countries had not fully integrated EU rules on anti-money laundering into their national laws. The 27-nation bloc’s executive cited a lack of action on EU law related to fundamental aspects of the anti-money… Read More

Luxembourg tightens screws on trusts with EU rules

Parliament decided to set up a list of who gets to benefit from trusts in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, putting in place a tool to shine more light on the financial industry required under European Union rules. The EU in 2018 adopted stricter rules for trusts – fiduciary arrangements… Read More

ECB withdraws Malta-based bank’s licence

A Malta-based bank, Satabank, has had its licence withdrawn by the European Central Bank, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and the Malta Financial Services Authority said on Wednesday. The decision was taken on the recommendation of the authority. The Bulgarian-owned bank, established in 2014, had its 12,000 accounts frozen by the… Read More

1st July 2020

Leading from Behind: The Focus on the Financial Investigation of Wildlife Crime Must be Sustained

Over the past 12 months, under its Chinese presidency, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made a welcome effort to engage with and promote the importance of financial investigation as a tool to combat the illegal wildlife trade (IWT). As per his objectives, Xiangmin Liu has used his… Read More

1st July 2020

Suitcases of Cash Halted by Virus in EU Money-Laundering Hotspot

When customs agents in Riga followed a tip and searched passengers arriving on a private jet from Ukraine last year, they hit the jackpot. Luggage belonging to the four travelers contained about $1 million in U.S. and European banknotes. The contraband was seized. Latvia, a European Union and euro-area… Read More

30th June 2020

Bank of Estonia: SEB fine shows banks could step up money-laundering fight

Estonian banks need to develop and improve their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes, including by having smarter know-your-client systems, the Bank of Estonia says, following a €1 million the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) imposed on the Scandinavian-owned SEB Pank on Thursday. This would be made easier by legislative changes and more… Read More

29th June 2020

Finalising EU COVID recovery package a ‘massive priority’, says Germany

Finalising the European Union’s package of measures to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic is a “massive priority” for Germany’s presidency of the EU, German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said on Friday. EU leaders agreed in April to build a trillion-euro emergency fund to help the 27-nation… Read More

26th June 2020

Billions of dirty euros in ordinary Belgian bank accounts

A senior government official has called a new amnesty on dirty money to bring billions of euros in hidden bank accounts back into the legal economy. In an interview with De Tijd, Steven Vanden Berghe, a senior civil servant with the federal finance ministry, argues there are billions of undeclared… Read More

25th June 2020

EU’s top court upholds sanctions against Russia’s VTB over Ukraine turmoil

The European Union’s top court on Thursday upheld sanctions against Russia’s second-largest bank VTB (VTBR.MM), dismissing the lender’s appeal against the restrictive measures the bloc had first imposed in 2014 over the turmoil in Ukraine. The sanctions restrict the bank’s access to some financial transactions and to capital markets… Read More

25th June 2020

How gardaí uncovered a massive fraud network based in Ireland

Just under two years ago gardaí became inundated with requests for assistance from police forces in Europe all telling a similar story. Somebody in a European country had made a purchase online – from a luxury watch to a caravan, tractor or classic car – but they had not… Read More

23rd June 2020

Council of Europe Calls for More Cross-Border Financial Probes

The Council of Europe is calling for tougher tools for the fight against organized crime which only in the European Union could be making over 100 billion euro a year while authorities are confiscating just a fragment of its proceeds. To enhance the powers of investigators, the Council of… Read More

17th June 2020

A warning from Bulgaria: Corruption channels are ‘eagerly awaiting’ big EU money

Experts and opposition-minded politicians warned during an online conference on Monday (January 15th) of a “huge” risk of corruption in connection with the generous funds the European Commission has proposed to mobilise in response to the coronavirus crisis. The conference, organised by EURACTIV Bulgaria and MEP Radan Kanev (EPP, Democratic… Read More

15th June 2020

Financial Crime and Brexit: Can We Agree on Nothing?

As the UK and the EU exchange expressions of disappointment with each other’s alleged inflexibility after every round of Brexit trade negotiations, the usual areas of disagreement are raised: access to Britain’s fishing grounds, the requirements of a level playing field agreement, regulations over state aid and other issues that… Read More

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