Date : 11/03/2014
BRUSSELS, March 11 (KUNA) -- The European Parliament Tuesday passed a draft
law under which ultimate owners of companies and trusts would have to be
listed in public registers in EU countries.
The draft law passed by 643 votes to 30 would also require banks, auditors,
lawyers, real estate agents, among others, to be more vigilant about
suspicious transactions made by their clients.
"The public registers will make life more difficult for criminals trying to
hide their money. Our economy currently loses huge amounts to tax evasion,"
said Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Judith Sargentini.
"Today is a good day for law-abiding citizens, but a lousy day for
criminals," added Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee rapporteur Krisjanis
Karins.
Under the anti-money laundering law, a public central register in each EU
country would list information on the ultimate beneficial owners of all sorts
of legal arrangements, including companies, foundations, holdings and trusts.
These registers would be interconnected across the EU and would be publicly
available.
The new rules also apply to "politically-exposed persons," who are people
at a higher than usual risk of corruption due to the political positions they
hold.
These people are those who are or have been "entrusted by the EU member
state with prominent public functions," such as heads of state, members of
government, supreme court judges, and members of parliaments. (end)
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