Financial Crime

Issue 1189 / 12 January 2023

Overview

  • 5MLD European Parliament adopts proposal to smoothen investigations into financial crime 

European Parliament

5MLD - European Parliament adopts proposal to smooth investigations into financial crime12 January 2023 

The European Parliament has announced that MEPs have adopted a proposal to smooth investigations into financial crime.

The new proposal, endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs, makes it easier for investigators to retrieve data from centralised bank registries, which were created by the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5MLD). This will enable more effective investigations into illicit finance.

EU member states will be mandated to require that information from centralised registries is available through a single access point, which will be developed and operated by the European Commission. National competent authorities will then be able to ascertain quickly if an individual holds accounts in multiple EU member states without time-consuming enquiries.

MEPs have emphasised the importance of respecting individuals’ right to privacy, and the principle of data minimisation. In addition, they have highlighted that the need to collect bank account information must be proportionate to the needs of a given investigation and only allowed in circumstances that would be permitted in relation to a national registry search.

The European Parliament will now be asked to endorse the mandate for negotiations.

Press Release