Tougher EU money laundering rules target crypto and oligarchs''favourite toys'
By Huw Jones
LONDON (Reuters) -The European Union on Thursday agreed tougher anti-money laundering rules for cryptoassets and dealers in luxury cars and yachts, warning that oligarchs and criminals could no longer hide in the 27-country bloc.
Representatives of EU states and the European Parliament reached a deal on the new framework in negotiations that concluded in the early hours.
«It is a good day for EU citizens and businesses, but bad day for oligarchs and terrorists,» said Eero Heinaluoma, one of lawmakers who took part.
The EU has long had anti-money laundering rules, but they were applied differently in each member state, making it easier for cross-border crime to flourish.
Danske Bank's admission in 2018 that suspicious payments totalling 200 billion euros ($218 billion) from Russia and elsewhere flowed through a branch in Estonia highlighted the need to improve cross-border cooperation.
Thursday's deal introduces a single EU rulebook for tackling money laundering across the bloc, completing a package that included a new EU anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) agreed last month.
The latest deal gives AMLA, whose location has yet to be decided, powers to intervene if a member state is too slow in tackling money laundering.
It also broadens the scope of anti-money laundering rules to include cryptoassets, luxury goods traders, football clubs and agents, and «golden» visas granted by some EU states in return for investment in property.
The aim is to check where funds for purchases come from and whether the purchaser is subject to EU sanctions.
CRYPTO CHECKS
Cryptoasset service providers must make checks on customers who carry out transactions worth 1,000 euros or more and report suspicious activity. Cross-border
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