The best way to protect your company from falling victim to money laundering or assisting in illegal activities is to make sure you know who you are doing business with and whether they are in compliance with national and EU regulations. Read our latest article on the EU Anti-Money-Laundering-Directive and its importance for companies.
Money laundering directly enables more serious crimes, human rights abuses, and corruption. The European Unions sixth set of Anti-Money Laundering Directives (6AMLD) places a heavier focus on criminality and punishment than its predecessors. Past AMLD regulations set a one-year minimum jail term for any individual convicted of money laundering. 6AMLD increases the required minimum penalty to four years. Individuals may also face fines.
Culpability has also been extended to legal persons and entities or individuals found guilty of aiding, abetting, inciting, or attempting money laundering. Entities found guilty may be excluded from public funding or banned from doing business temporarily or permanently.
The 6AMLD also identifies 22 predicate offenses to money laundering that all EU member states must criminalize. A predicate offense is a crime that is a component of a more serious crime. A predicate offense to money laundering is any crime that generates a profit, such as illicit trafficking, forgery, or fraud. It calls for stricter cross-border cooperation. Member states are now required to freely share information to allow prosecution across two or more states if there is evidence that the crime and money laundering occurred across borders or in different states.
The best way to protect your company from falling victim to money laundering or assisting in illegal activities is to make sure you know who you are doing business with and whether they are in compliance with national and EU regulations.
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