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EU proposes fourth money laundering directive

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4th Mar 2013
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The European Commission has made a proposal for a fourth money laundering directive, with potential changes likely to occur late 2014.

The proposals are in response to changes made to requirements issued by the Financial Action Taskforce in February 2012.

While the directive will have to go through EU processes to become a directive, David Winch of MLRO Support has outlined some key areas that could affect accountants and their clients.

“With regard to the firms themselves, the proposal is that they should be required to identify, understand and mitigate their money laundering risks and to document and update the assessments of risk they undertake,” said Winch.

“That goes a bit further, I suggest, than current money laundering regulations.”

Proposals that could affect clients are:

  • The limit on cash transactions (notes and coins, not card) for ‘high value dealers’ is currently €15,000 - it is proposed to drop this to €7,500
  • Legal persons, such as companies, will be required to keep a record of who their beneficial owners are
  • The scope of MLR may be extended beyond casinos to other forms of gambling, such as bookmakers.

After the directive is passed, the UK government would have around two years to pass new UK money laundering regulations, which would then apply to UK accountants and businesses, Winch added. 

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