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Ireland Approves Enhanced Monitoring Measures for Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
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Dublin, Ireland - The Irish government has approved a new bill aimed at strengthening the country’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to transpose certain provisions from the Fifth EU Money Laundering Directive into Irish law.
Key Provisions of the Bill
- Increased monitoring of suspicious transactions through enhanced controls and selection of patterns for further examination
- Improved sharing of information between group entities
- Timely feedback to designated persons who make suspicious transaction reports
- Enhanced customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions
- Limiting the use of virtual currencies for terrorist financing and pre-paid cards
- Improving safeguards for financial transactions to and from high-risk third countries
Background
The Fifth EU Money Laundering Directive was adopted in 2018 to strengthen the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Ireland has committed to transposing its provisions into national law by 2023.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
The FATF is an inter-governmental body that sets international standards for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. It monitors countries’ compliance with these standards and provides technical assistance to help them implement effective anti-money laundering frameworks.
Ireland has a strong track record of cooperation with FATF and has been praised for its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The country’s fourth mutual evaluation assessment by FATF was published in 2017 and concluded that Ireland had made significant progress in implementing the FATF standards.
Government Response
“Money laundering and terrorist financing are significant threats to national security and the integrity of our financial system,” said a government spokesperson. “This bill will help us stay ahead of these criminals and prevent them from exploiting our financial system for their nefarious purposes.”
The Irish Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Unit will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the new measures and reporting suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing to An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners.
Next Steps
The bill is expected to come into effect in 2023, pending parliamentary approval. In the meantime, financial institutions and other designated persons are urged to familiarize themselves with the new requirements and take steps to comply with them.