European Commission Strengthens Transparency Rules

European Commission strengthens transparency rules to tackle terrorism financing, tax avoidance and money laundering

The EU has set up strong rules to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, to prevent the EU financial system from being misused for these purposes. The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, adopted on 20 May 2015, set high standards, to ensure, that credit and financial institutions are equipped to detect and take action against such risks.

Nevertheless, given the evolving threats, on 5th July 2016 in Brussels the Commission adopted a proposal to further improve the current legislative framework, and speed up some other non-legislative initiatives. Moreover, the Commission made its highest priority the enhancement of the fight against tax avoidance, money laundering and terrorism financing.