Europe puts money laundering on the ropes. After two years of intense discussions and continuous amendments, the European Parliament has finally voted on the new anti-money laundering legislation, according to which names of the beneficial owners of the businesses, and not their corporations, should be listed in the central registers present in all EU states, accessible both to the authorities and to people with a "legitimate interest", i.e. investigative journalists.
This provides for the new anti-money laundering directive on the basis of an informal agreement with the European Council, approved today by the Parliament in Strasbourg. The aim is to strengthen the fight against tax crimes and the financing of terrorism. Among the rules, even those to facilitate the traceability of money. According to the text approved by the uonly clause to get the exclusion from the lists is the risk of fraud for the company owner.
