Financial Services Commissioner: "A genuinely European anti-money laundering regime" is necessary

According to the EU's commissioner for financial services, "a genuinely European anti-money laundering regime" must be established.

Mairead McGuinness, a commissioner, also issued a warning about how gangs and kleptocrats finding it too simple to transfer and incorporate dirty money in Europe's banks.

Crime and kleptocrats "can too easily move their dirty money into our financial system and hide its origins," she added, pointing to the attention given to Russian billionaires and dirty money in the aftermath of the crisis in Ukraine.

Commissioner Mairead McGuinness remarked, "We need to close the loopholes that are there in our rules on money laundering," indicating that Europe was taking a unique approach to combating dirty money.

The blunt comments were made in a speech before the European Court of Auditors, when she stated that "we have to go a big step forward" in light of the EU's current efforts on AML not being sufficient.

"Organised criminal gangs inflict misery on families and communities, and then these criminals clean their money through our mainstream financial institutions. And this is completely unacceptable," she said.

"They inflict misery on families and communities, and then these criminals clean their money through our mainstream financial institutions. And this is completely unacceptable," the Commissioner continued.

She stated in her speech on Friday last week that the amount of gangster-generated filthy money flowing through the European banking system was undermining its integrity (Sept 16).

She told the Court of Auditors that "repeated scandals around money laundering involved mainstream financial institutions absolutely undermine that trust."

"So we need to close the loopholes that are there in our rules on money laundering. And we need to build a genuinely European anti-money laundering regime."

The new AML Authority (AMLA), which is expected to be fully operational by 2026, would "change the game in the fight against money laundering," according to the Commissioner.

"It will become the centre of our new supervisory system, undertaking some supervision itself, while co-ordinating and setting high standards for the rest."

By fLEXI tEAM