Financial Crime World

Financial Crime Reporting Guidelines in Ireland Get Tougher

Ireland’s government has introduced new regulations aimed at tightening the country’s financial crime reporting guidelines to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This move is part of a broader effort to enhance transparency and accountability in the financial sector.

New Regulations for Credit and Financial Institutions

Under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended by Part 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 2013 and by the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018, the Central Bank of Ireland is now empowered to take measures that are reasonably necessary to ensure that credit and financial institutions comply with their Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) obligations.

Key Requirements for Designated Persons

  • Customer Due Diligence: Clearly define the offence of money laundering and establish customer due diligence requirements, including the identification of beneficial owners and politically exposed persons.
  • Risk-Based Approach: Embed a risk-based approach to AML/CFT, complete business-level and customer/transaction-level risk assessments, and maintain accurate records.

Beneficial Ownership Requirements

The government has also introduced new regulations on beneficial ownership, requiring companies and other legal entities incorporated in Ireland to retain adequate, accurate, and up-to-date information on their beneficial owners within an internally maintained register. Similar requirements have been imposed on trustees of trusts, who must identify beneficiaries under the trust and maintain a beneficial ownership register.

EU Directives and Statutory Instruments

The European Union has also played a key role in shaping Ireland’s financial crime reporting guidelines, with EU directives such as Directive 2005/60/EC and Directive (EU) 2015/849 providing a framework for AML/CFT regulations. The government has implemented these directives through various statutory instruments, including the European Communities (Information on the Payer Accompanying Transfer of Funds) Regulations 2007 and the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2019.

Conclusion

The new regulations are a significant step forward in Ireland’s efforts to combat financial crime, and will help to strengthen transparency and accountability in the financial sector. As the government continues to crack down on money laundering and terrorist financing, it is likely that these guidelines will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of the financial industry.