WSBI ESBG
Anti Money Laundering
An ongoing dialogue needs to be fostered between policy and industry
Preventing money laundering and terrorist financing
The adoption of an EU Regulation could be a way to help clarify the grey zones in the existing rulebook and would allow banks that operate cross-border to develop common EU-wide AML/CFT policies and processes, create synergies and facilitate effective cross-border supervision.
Identified Concerns
ESBG has always supported preventing money laundering and curbing terrorist financing. Furthermore, ESBG very much supports cooperation between national supervisors and regulators and sees room for further improvements in this area. ESGB also insists that cooperation between supervisors and the private sector should be reinforced as the main flaws in AML and CTF mechanisms are caused by a lack of cooperation and communication between the market operators and the supervisory authority. An ongoing dialogue needs to be fostered between policy and industry.
Proposed Solutionsand Actions
Supervisory fragmentation could be addressed by the creation of an independent EU body/authority with a clear AML/CFT mandate, or by giving an existing EU authority a deeper AML/CFT mandate, always taking into account also the national specificities. ESBG is supportive of harmonised guidance, better coordinated implementation and unified supervisory practices across the EU, leveraging the experience and expertise of national supervisors as well as banking institutions in this field.
Why PolicymakersShould Act
As reported by diverse reports from blockchain analysis, a large part of crypto-assets markets is linked to activities related to financial crime. We consider that novel issues arising from the use of new technologies in financial services require a proper regulation under a new approach. For example, new economic operators should be included in the list of obliged entities, as done by some member states when transposing the AMLD 5 into their national rules. Crowdfunding platforms are different types of services related to crypto-assets, including miners and issuers, should be included among the obliged entities.
Background
Recent developments in legislation have aimed to strengthen the EU anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. These include amendments to the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) introduced by the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), an upgraded mandate for the European Banking Authority, new provisions that will apply to cash controls starting from June 2021, amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRDV), new rules on access to financial information by law enforcement authorities and a harmonised definition of offences and sanctions related to money laundering.
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