The new directive (Directive EU 2018/843) on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorism financing (the “5th AML Directive”) amending the 4th AML Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 19 June 2018, and will enter into force 20 days thereafter. Member States are required to implement the 5th AML Directive into national law by 10 January 2020.
The key aspects of the 5th AML Directive are:
– an extended scope of the persons subject to the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing requirements (in particular to address terrorism financing risks linked to virtual currencies and anonymous prepaid cards and the constant technological evolutions in such field);
– enhanced customer due diligence measures (in particular in the context of financial transactions involving high-risk third countries);
– new increased transparency measures (including enhanced access (for some even public!) to BO registers and through central registries of bank and payment accounts holders at Member State level); and
– enhanced powers for the relevant supervisory authorities and the EU financial intelligence units.
