In it’s latest newsletter the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) gave an update on European anti-money-laundering developments:

Revision of the 4th Anti-money laundering Directive
On 19 April, the European Parliament plenary session formally approved the revised 4th Anti-money laundering Directive following an agreement on its revision by the Parliament, Commission and the Council in December 2017. The agreement marks the fifth and latest update to the EU’s Anti-money laundering Directive. The revised Directive means that there will be public access to national registers of beneficial owners of companies operating in the EU, including subsequent interconnection of national registers. There will also be access to national registers of beneficial owners of trusts operating in the EU, where there is a legitimate interest, as it is in the cases of NGOs and investigative journalists, including subsequent interconnection of national registers. The scope of the Directive has been extended to cover all forms of tax advisory services, letting agents, freeports, art dealers, electronic wallet providers and virtual currency exchange service providers. Of interest to the CCBE, self-regulating professions must now report on suspicious transaction reports received, suspicious transaction reports forwarded to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive and imposed sanctions. The Directive also provides for greater cooperation between national FIUs and the inclusion of bank supervisors in the exchange of information. Additionally, the Directive provides better regulation in the protection of whistle-blowers who signal money laundering activities such as the right to anonymity.
The amended Directive will enter into force at the end of 2019.

FATF revision of risk-based approach guidance for professions
The CCBE is participating in the FATF project to revise the risk-based approach (RBA) guidance for professional intermediaries (lawyers, accountants and trusts and company service providers). The FATF has agreed details about the proposed revision regarding information on the initial framework, draft timelines, terms of reference and the structure of the proposed Guidance.
The drafting work of the revised guidance has now begun, and the first draft was discussed during an FATF meeting in Vienna
on 23-24 April.

TAX3 Inquiry – Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance
On March 1, the European Parliament confirmed the decision taken in February by the Conference of Presidents to set up a special committee on financial crime, tax fraud and tax avoidance. The new TAXE 3 Committee is the fourth committee, after the TAXE, TAXE 2 and PANA committees, to address these issues. It is expected to build on and complete the work carried out by its predecessors. The TAX3 Committee will last for 12 months and will comprise of 45 members. Its mandate will focus on tax avoidance, tax evasion, and money laundering. It will aim to finalise the work begun under the TAXE 1 and TAXE 2 special committees, as well as the implementation of the recommendations set out by MEPs who worked on the ‘Panama Papers’ inquiry. On 22 March, in the aftermath of the election of its members by the Parliament on 14 March, the Committee convened in Brussels for its inaugural meeting. Petr Ježek (ALDE) of the Czech Republic, co-rapporteur on the PANA Committee, was appointed chair of the TAXE3 Committee. The TAX3 Committee met once again on 16 April in Strasbourg and have agreed to present a report on their inquiry by 1 March 2019. The CCBE will be following the activities of the TAXE3 Committee.

Commission proposal on countering money laundering by criminal law
The CCBE’s AML and Criminal Law Committees have been attentively following the Commission proposal on “Countering money laundering by criminal law”. The CCBE has already submitted a position paper in this regard and participated in a number of meetings with various representatives. The Committee prepared a second position paper in order to illustrate practical problems with regard to the Council and Parliament positions. The Parliament and Council are carrying out trilogue negotiations, assisted by the Commission, with a view to reaching an agreement on the proposal. The second trilogue took place on 21 February 2018. The third trilogue took place on 12 April.