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) nk.bs KUNA 111956 Mar 14NNNN