The EU Council and the European Parliament have finally reached an agreement on a new Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
The 4th AML Directive expands the scope of its predecessor in a number of respects.
Key Features of the New Directive
Highlights of the Directive include the following:
Entities that must apply customer due diligence rules must do so in the following instances:
The Directive also provides that customer due diligence measures include the following:
EU Member States will have a two-year period to implement the Anti-Money Laundering Directive in their national legal systems.
Furthermore, MEPs approved regulatory rules on the transfer of funds that seeks to facilitate the traceability of payers and recipients and their property, which will be directly applicable in every Member State 20 days after publication of the rules within the EU Official Gazette.
The new EU Money Laundering Directive represents a new step towards transparency and the introduction of public registers on the ultimate beneficial ownership of companies and other entities raises fundamental questions about the right to privacy.