Opinion of the European Central Bank of 16 April 2007 on an amendment to the Law XV of 2003 on the prevention and combating of money laundering (CON/2007/10)
Date: 2007-04-16
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Hungary, fight against crime, money laundering, national law, payment system

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 16 April 2007 

on an amendment to the Law XV of 2003 on the prevention and combating of money laundering 

(CON/2007/10) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 26 February 2007 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Hungary’s Ministry of 

Finance  (hereinafter  the  ‘Ministry’)  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  amendment  to  Law  XV  of  2003  on  the 

prevention and restriction of money laundering (hereinafter the ‘draft law’).  

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  Article  105(4)  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 

European  Community  and  the  third  and  fifth  indents  of  Article  2(1)  of  Council  Decision  98/415/EC of 

29 June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  ECB  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative 
provisions1, as the draft law relates to the national central bank and payment and settlement systems. In 

accordance  with  the  first  sentence  of  Article  17.5  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  European  Central 

Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

1.  

Purpose of the draft law 

According to the Ministry’s letter of 26 February 2007 (hereinafter the ‘letter’), the draft law intends to 

bring Hungarian legislation into line with Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 of the European Parliament and 

Council of 15 November 2006 on information on the payer accompanying transfers of funds (hereinafter 
the ‘Regulation’)2.  

2.   General observations 

2.1  First, the ECB would like to stress its commitment to contributing to the adoption, implementation 

and  execution  of  measures  preventing  the  use  of  the  financial  system  for  terrorist  activities,  as 

expressed in its public statement on 1 October 2001. 

2.2  The  ECB  welcomes  the  enhanced  clarity  of  the  money laundering  legislative  framework  that  the 

draft law will introduce. In particular, this new sanctioning power will allow the relevant authority 

to respond within its legal framework to future challenges in the fight against money laundering.  

1   
2   

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
OJ L 345, 8.12.2006, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
2.3  The  eighth  recital  of  the  Regulation  reflected  the  ECB’s  recommendations  in  Opinion 

CON/2005/2, according to which any natural or legal person providing payment service providers 

solely  with  messaging  or  other  support  systems  for  transmitting  funds  or  with  clearing  and 

settlement  systems  do  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  Regulation.  This  is  also  consistent  with 
recital  34  of  the  Third  Money  Laundering  Directive3.The  ECB  notes  that  obligations  are  already 

imposed  on  credit  institutions  and  financial  institutions  to  combat  money  laundering.  Hence, 

whenever  the  payment  system  operator  ensures  that  only  supervised  credit  institutions  may 
participate,  no  further  requirements  should  be  imposed  on  the  payment  system  itself4.  In  light  of 

this,  the  ECB  submits  that  reporting  obligations  and,  consequently,  the  imposition  of  sanctions, 

should apply only to payment and settlement system participants, and not to payment, clearing and 

settlement  systems  operators,  including  the  Magyar  Nemzeti  Bank,  because  such  operators  fall 

outside  the  scope  of  the  Regulation.  Against  this  background,  the  Ministry  is  invited  to  bring  its 

interpretation into line with the Regulation and the Third Money Laundering Directive. 

2.4  The  Ministry  indicates  in  the  letter  its  view  that  the  draft  law  will  also  extend  the  supervisory 

powers of the State Supervisory Authority of Financial Organisations (hereinafter the ‘PSZÁF’) to 

the  Magyar  Nemzeti  Bank  as  a  financial  services  provider,  although  the  draft  law  does  not 

expressly provide this. In addition, Section 5 of the draft law introduces provisions regarding the 

PSZÁF’s  sanctioning  power,  empowering  the  PSZÁF,  inter  alia,  with  the  right  to  restructure 

internal rules of the subject in question, suspend the activity causing the breach, prohibit it to carry 

out money transfer activities, carry out on-site inspections and impose a fine. The ECB welcomes 

these proposed changes inasmuch as they are addressed to payment system participants as opposed 

to payment system operators, in line with applicable Community legislation. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 16 April 2007. 

[signed] 

The Vice-President of the ECB 

Lucas PAPADEMOS 

3  
4  

OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15.  
See also paragraph 5 of ECB Opinion CON/2002/4 of 18 January 2002 at the request of the Danish Ministry of Economic 
and Business Affairs on a draft act amending the Act on money laundering.  

2