EC asks Romania to correctly transpose Anti-Money Laundering Directive
The European Commission decided on Thursday to initiate an infringement procedure by sending an official letter of formal notice to Romania and an additional letter of formal notice to Slovakia for incorrect transposition of the 4th and 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive 2008/98/EC (4th and 5thAMLD), according to a statement issued by the EU executive.
Romania and Slovakia have notified full transposition of the Directive. However, the Commission has identified several cases where the Directive has not been correctly transposed into national law. In the case of Romania, this failure affects, among other things, fundamental issues such as the existence of an effective penalty regime when incorrect data are entered in the national register of beneficial owners.
Anti-money laundering regulations are essential in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Legislative loopholes that occur in one Member State have an impact on the EU. EU rules should therefore be effectively implemented and supervised to fight crime and protect our financial system, says the European Commission.
In the absence of satisfactory replies from Romania and Slovakia within two months, the Commission may decide to continue the infringement procedure and send a reasoned opinion.