Financial information in the context of anti-money laundering. Broadening the access of law enforcement and facilitating information exchanges
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-10-2019-0081 |
| Pages | 369-378 |
| Date | 11 March 2020 |
| Published date | 11 March 2020 |
| Author | George Pavlidis |
| Subject Matter | Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Accounting & Finance |
Financial information in the
context of anti-money laundering
Broadening the access of law enforcement
and facilitating information exchanges
George Pavlidis
School of Law and Social Sciences, Neapolis University, Paphos, Cyprus
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to examine three important interrelated issues that arise in the context of
financial investigations: the access of law enforcement agencies to centralised bank account registries that
have been set up in several jurisdictions;the exchange of financial information between financial intelligence
units (FIUs) that function in differentjurisdictions; and the exchange of financial information betweenFIUs
and law enforcement bodies. Through the adoption of Directive 2019/1153, the European Union (EU) has
attempted to achieve a paradigm shift in these three areas, but many challenges remain, from the
interconnectionof registries to the implementation of adequatedata protection safeguards.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper draws on primary sources of law, legal scholarship,
reports and open source data to analyse the changes that Directive 2019/1153 has brought about in
conducting financial investigationsin the area of anti-money laundering (AML) and the counter-financing of
terrorism(CFT).
Findings –The new Directive2019/1153 constitutes an internationalmodel for broadening the access of law
enforcement agencies to financialinformation and facilitating information exchanges between FIUs and law
enforcementagencies. Nevertheless, many challengeshave still to be addressed, such as the interconnectionof
centralisedregistries and the implementation of adequate safeguards.
Originality/value –This is a comprehensive study examining the new EU framework for access to
financial informationand information exchangesbetween FIUs and law enforcement agencies, which can be
used as a model for internationalcooperation in the areas of AML/CFT.
Keywords Money laundering, Financial information, Financing of terrorism,
Centralised bank account registers, Financial intelligence units, Financial investigations
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In the context of sophisticated and constantly evolving money laundering and terrorist
financing operations (FATF, 2019), criminals and organised crime networks, including
terrorist groups, attempt to conceal their financial means by rapidly transferring assets
between different bank accounts, currencies and jurisdictions. To locate, freeze and
ultimately confiscate these assets, competent public authorities conduct financial
investigations, which involve the collection, evaluation, collation and analysis of financial
data and transactions. Financial investigations allow for mapping out and dismantling
transnational criminal organisations and removing the financial means they needto remain
operational.
In the context of financial investigations, several jurisdictions already have centralised
bank account registries to facilitate compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and
counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) obligations and standards (Bergstrom, 2018;Naheem,
2015). It has been correctly pointedout that:
Access of law
enforcement
369
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.23 No. 2, 2020
pp. 369-378
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-10-2019-0081
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
To continue reading
Request your trial