EU proposes watchdog to halt flow of dirty money
Huw Jones, 20 July 2021
EU policymakers proposed a new agency on Tuesday to stop financial firms from aiding criminals and terrorists after a scandal at a Danish bank highlighted the inadequacy of the bloc’s defences.
Europe came under pressure to step up enforcement of its anti-money laundering rules when several countries began investigating Danske Bank after more than 200 billion euros ($235 billion) of suspicious transactions passed through its tiny Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) is setting up a centralised database to name and shame financial institutions in the EU that have weak anti-money laundering (AML) controls.