The European Parliament approved on Wednesday April 24 new legislation against money laundering which provides for the limitation of cash payments to 10,000 euros within the European Union.
Some countries, such as France, already have stricter rules than the new European provision. But in other states, such as Austria or Germany, cash payments have until now remained unlimited.
The legislation, concluded after two and a half years of negotiations and which will come into force this year, should help to better fight against the financing of terrorism. The objective is to bring together very disparate regulations in the 27 EU countries to detect and limit questionable transactions.
This agreement “will ensure that fraudsters, organized crime and terrorists no longer have the opportunity to legitimize their profits through the financial system”declared in January the Belgian Minister of Finance, Vincent Van Peteghem, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
Professional football clubs and their agents subject to regulation
The new legislation also harmonizes and tightens the rules against money laundering and terrorist financing imposed on banks, real estate agencies and casinos. These entities will need to be able to identify their customers or the asset owners behind opaque financial arrangements. The application of these rules will be extended to the crypto-asset sector in order to guarantee traceability there too.
They will also concern the trade in luxury products such as precious metals, jewelry, watches, as well as that of very high-end cars, private jets or yachts.
Finally, professional football clubs and their agents will also be subject to the reinforced regulations, but at the end of a transition period of five years after the entry into force of the text, therefore from 2029.
The new legislation will also strengthen the powers of financial intelligence services.
This package of measures was proposed by the European Commission in July 2021. At the end of February, the European Parliament and the member states chose to establish in Frankfurt the headquarters of the future European Union agency against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Generally referred to by its English acronym AMLA (“Anti-money laundering authority”), it will be responsible for supervising and coordinating national authorities to better detect and combat questionable cross-border activities.