C 152/90
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.4.2022
1.5.
The EESC proposes that the Regulation on crypto-assets, of the AML legislative package, be implemented as a matter of urgency.
The Commission proposal for a Regulation on the crypto-assets market (1) is a step towards general regulation and should enter into force as a matter of urgency, but it does not replace all the instruments needed to defend against the financial and criminal risks of these financial products.
1.6.
The EESC calls on the Commission to consider how to apply the legislative package to money laundering channels outside the financial system: the market in works of art and high-value assets; free ports, customs warehouses and special economic zones; certain commercial or trade transactions, real estate investments, gambling, etc. It considers that new European legislation will be needed in these areas.
1.7.
The EESC proposes that Europol be given greater powers and sufficient resources to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and transnational organised crime and to coordinate national police forces in these areas.
Effective coordination of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which should be put in place without delay, Europol and the new AMLA may be the key to the practical success of the legislative package.
1.8.
The EESC calls on the Commission to push for the urgent transposition in all Member States of Directive 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), which establishes a common definition of the offence of money laundering; and for a new Directive on a common definition of related offences to be enacted, in which the corresponding penalties for these offences should fall within certain ranges.
1.9.
The EESC is very concerned about the existence in the EU of a huge number of ‘shell companies’, which play a key role in money laundering and tax avoidance.
It proposes that the authorities currently responsible and the future integrated supervisory system set up specific programmes to monitor these companies, managed by certain law firms, consultancies or tax advisors, in order to identify their real owners and those responsible for their transactions, and to investigate any crimes they may commit.
1.10.
The EESC calls on the European Commission to examine the possibility of the AMLA being fully operational, including direct supervision, before 2026.
In any event, the EESC calls on all the institutions involved to cooperate more closely in the interim in order to implement existing legislation more effectively.
1.11.
The EESC considers it necessary to draw up a new, realistic and truthful list of high-risk third countries, including all those that facilitate money laundering.
It also proposes that the European Commission enact a rule that companies and individuals involved in financial crime or money laundering should be excluded from public procurement procedures.
1.12.
The EESC calls on the EU and national governments to protect the lives and integrity of journalists, employees and civil servants who denounce economic and political corruption, and considers the delay in transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) to be unacceptable
2.
European Commission proposal and background 2.1.
In July 2019, the European Commission (EC) presented its assessment of Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT).
The Communication and the four evaluation (4) highlighted serious shortcomings in the implementation of existing legislation and divergences between Member States in the area of AML-CFT.
2.2.
To address these problems, on 7 May 2020, the Commission published an AML-CFT Action Plan (5) and opened a public consultation on it.
The Plan was based on six pillars: effective implementation of existing rules; a single EU rulebook;
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
COM(2020) 593 final.
Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal law (OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 22).
Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).
COM(2019) 360 final, COM(2019) 370 final, COM(2019) 371 final and COM(2019) 372 final of 24.7.2019.
C(2020) 2800.