EP anti-mafia committee

Friday 15 February 2013

http://www.europolitics.info/external-policies/two-days-to-tackle-money-laundering-art348311-44.html

Members of the special anti-mafia committee set up for a one-year period in the European Parliament will examine in detail the problem of money laundering in the EU, on 18-19 February. The process of laundering money earned from trafficking in drugs, weapons and human beings, and from extortion of funds, involves multiple activities, as will be detailed in three EP reports: a general report by Salvatore Iacolino (EPP, Italy) and two thematic reports on the role of financial services by Mario Borghezio (EFD, Italy) and on tax evasion by Rui Tavares (Greens-EFA, Portugal). These activities generally go hand in hand with corruption, fraud and tax evasion.

Gambling, which is prospering online, is one of the most widely used of some 20-odd techniques. It is fairly simple, explains Iacolino: dirty money, often small sums, is converted into tokens used in casinos, which are then converted into laundered money. There are virtually no losses, and when there are, they are covered by unscrupulous dealers. The mushrooming of online casinos makes controls even more difficult. The rapporteurs recommend a ban on anonymity in online gambling, the identification of servers and follow-up of movements of money online and off.

The most modern techniques involve the use of banks, insurance companies, currency exchange offices, bank transfers and financial intermediaries. Among the countless transactions taking place every day (some US$10,000 billion are said to circulate daily on international financial markets), money laundering can easily go unnoticed, even in large amounts.

“Just as it is possible to launder illegal funds, it is also possible to rely on cooperation, either deliberate or involuntary, by banks and insurance companies,” notes Iacolino, who calls for action against white collar complicity in these circuits.

Measures are needed to oblige tax havens, which often come into the money laundering picture, to impose minimum taxation standards, especially countries with very generous tax systems that are close to non-EU states. This description seemingly applies to Cyprus and its proximity to Russian money. Nicosia has requested European support and is undergoing an independent audit demanded by the EU.

All these questions and more will be explored during these two days of debates and the rapporteurs will make recommendations, for example: a European definition of criminal money laundering, dissuasive sanctions, ratification by all member states of international cooperation agreements, less use of cash and more use of electronic payments, a greater role for chambers of commerce in preventing money laundering and making available information on the business world, a stronger role for the ECB, the new European banking supervisory authority, in tackling money laundering, etc.

“It is possible to rely on cooperation, deliberate or involuntary, by banks and insurance companies”