The EU Agrees Action Plan to Combat Economic Crime

Published: Monday, June 1, 2020

The European Commission Proposes to Create a Central Anti-Money Laundering Body

The European Commission has released a bold action plan to ensure a unified and comprehensive EU-wide policy to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, it launched a public consultation on this matter, open until July 29th 2020. According to an analysis of MAREȘ & MAREȘ, this broad action plan comprises six steps:

1. The efficient implementation of the existing rules;

2. A single regulatory framework at EU level;

3. A centralized surveillance system at EU level;

4. A support and cooperation mechanism for the Financial Intelligence Units (FIU - in Romania, ONPCSB for this role);

5. Increased access to information for the application of white collar crime legislation;

6. A stronger Union in the global context, fully aligned with the standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The MAREȘ & MAREȘ analysis emphasizes the fact that all these elements have been addressed by EU bodies since July 2019, but the steps towards tighter money laundering policies have been driven by successive financial scandals, such as Danske Bank, which have shaken the European internal market. At the same time, they revealed certain systemic vulnerabilities at EU level, caused by factors such as: poor implementation of Union rules (for example, in Romania, the law to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing, in force since July 2019, has already sparked many discussions among the various categories of reporting entities, and the transposition of the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive is still in the draft stage, although the transposition deadline was January 10th 2020); inefficient supervision at Member State level; difficult cooperation between different national authorities.

“EU authorities also considered the idea that the European Banking Authority (EBA), which oversees national anti-money laundering systems in the banking area, could have this role as a central supervisory body. However, I share the opinion that it would be more effective if the new supervisory body was distinct from the EBA and thus benefit from a high degree of independence, as well as from a flexible management structure", states Mihai Mareș, founding partner of MAREȘ & MAREȘ.

”Therefore, in this context, I fully agree with the experts stating that the set-up of a central EU anti-money laundering body is not only timely, but also imperative in these times – especially given that fragmented surveillance, limited to Member States, has proven insufficient and that the criminal world can take advantage of these loopholes. However, in order to avoid the risk that this new body is perceived only as a simple bureaucratic exercise, which would affect its credibility and efficiency, all the six steps described above should be implemented in a synergistic manner and all member states should proactively get involved in this project", explains Mihai Mareș.

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The European Commission, "Action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing”, May 7th 2020, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/200507-anti-money-laundering-terrorism-financing-action-plan_en

Mihai Mares

Mareș & Mareș

Country:

Romania

Practice Area:

Criminal

Website:

www.mares.ro

Phone Number:

+4 0314 378 324

Email:

mihai.mares@mares.ro

Fax:

+4 0314 378 327

Highly regarded by clients and peers alike as one of the brightest white collar crime attorneys in Romania, Mihai Mares specializes exclusively on criminal defence for senior executives, entrepreneurs, major industrial groups, financial institutions and large international and domestic companies, in a wide range of matters involving money laundering, fraud, bribery and other forms of corporate misconduct. With a Ph.D. in criminal procedure from the Romanian Academy’s Legal Institute, Mihai regularly publishes articles and studies on criminal law and criminal procedure and participates in international and national conferences related to these fields. Prior to founding Mares & Mares, Mihai was Garrigues’ managing partner in Romania, after having collaborated with a reputed independent Romanian law firm. Mihai is a member of several relevant national and international bodies, among which: •The International Bar Association – Business Crime Committee •The European Criminal Bar Association •The European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers •The Romanian Association of Criminal Sciences •The Romanian Forensic Association His practice, experience and exposure to high profile, complex cases makes him a great asset to collaborate with for several legal networks an alliances specialized in white collar crime around the world, who can support the team with relevant information, especially in extradition cases (good cooperation with local lawyers in the requesting state is also an essential component of an effective defence strategy in this field). The firm has also established best friends partnerships with some of the largest law firms in Europe.

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The EU Agrees Action Plan to Combat Economic Crime

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