Netherlands Cracks Down on Money Laundering: New Laws and Definitions
The Netherlands, renowned for its thriving economy and open business landscape, is strengthening its stance against money laundering. With the latest update to its anti-money laundering laws, the country is closing loopholes and expanding the scope of crimes that can be considered predicates for money laundering.
Understanding Money Laundering
Money laundering is the process of making illegally-gained proceeds appear legal. It is the act of concealing the origins of money obtained through criminal activities. After the implementation of the new European directive on December 3, 2020, money laundering itself has become a criminal offense in the Netherlands. According to Article 420bis of the Dutch Criminal Code and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), money laundering is defined as:
“Providing apparently lawful origins for an increase in assets that has been kept from the legal authorities. The goal of money laundering is to conceal the origins of the money.”
An ‘All-Crimes’ Approach
The Netherlands adheres to the ‘all-crimes approach’ to money laundering. This approach allows all crimes that generate illegally-acquired money to serve as predicates for money laundering investigations. The wide-ranging definition covers various criminal activities, including:
- Child Sexual Abuse Images
- Subsidy fraud
- Drug trafficking
- Cybercrime
- Corruption
This expansive definition is mandatory for all EU member states under the new directive.
Strengthening Commitment to Combatting Financial Crimes
With these new regulations, the Netherlands is demonstrating its strong commitment to combatting financial crimes and maintaining a transparent financial ecosystem. By making money laundering an independent criminal offense, the Dutch government intends to make it more difficult for criminals to profit from illicit activities.
This action aligns with the European Union’s ongoing efforts to combat financial crimes and uphold the integrity of its financial markets.