Meeting of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA)&nbsp;on anti-money laundering and the&nbsp;state of play of the implementation of EU legislation, in the EP in Brussels. Statements by Vĕra JOUROV&Aacute;, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Werner LANGEN (EPP, DE), Petr JEŽEK (ALDE, CZ), and Dariusz ROSATI (EPP, PL)

Brussels

exchange of views

meeting

JOUROVÁ, Věra (EC)

fight against tax fraud and evasion (T)

fight against organised crime, corruption and money laundering (T)

Panama Papers inquiry committee

LANGEN, Werner (EPP, DE)

JEŽEK, Petr (ALDE, CZ)

ROSATI, Dariusz (EPP, PL)

Anti-money laundering; state of play of the implementation of EU legislation: extracts from the exchange of views with Věra JOUROVÁ, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality

Title: Anti-Money Laundering; state of play of the implementation of EU legislation

SOUNDBITE (English), V&#277;ra JOUROV&#193;, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, The Commission sent recent opinion to 13 member states for failure to implement the third anti-money laundering directive in national law. The Commission referred six member states to European Court of Justice over non implementation. The Court fond that 5 of those member states had failed to transpose rail one case was be strong. Ultimately, all member states should insure transposition of third anti monetary laundering directive by the 10th of September 2010.

SOUNDBITE (English), V&#277;ra JOUROV&#193;, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, The Commission also responded to the Panama revelations by addressing inter alia the need for greater transparency of information, existing information and trades abilities. One of the major poverties of the proposal of the obligatory registration of beneficial owners of companies and trust, and the grater excess to these information by the public in accordance with privacy and data protection list.

SOUNDBITE (English), V&#277;ra JOUROV&#193;, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, The need to improve the protection of whistleblower has been clearly illustrated by recent cases of corporate taxes avoided in individual taxes. I would like to stress that Commission fully shares with these house the view that strongoing protection of whistleblower against react allegation is important. We have taken steps to protect whistleblower in the force Anti-money Laundering directive throw provisions on specific procedures for the receive of free report on bridges on Anti-money laundering rules.

SOUNDBITE (German), Werner LANGEN (EPP, DE), Chairman, For years we've been here in the EP Committees trying to address issues of court native register and it's really not satisfactory the court states must unsatisfactory are record the first legislation and regulation on financial markets, we've promised a lot and non of it has being living alone as yet.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petr JE&#381;EK (ALDE, CZ), The Commission deal with the Panama papers and other money laundering revelations. Did you examine data by ICIG (The International Corporate Identity Group) when dealing the Anti-Money laundering directive revision and more precisely, do you have any documents to identify the regulatory loopholes in the light of Panama Papers.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dariusz ROSATI (EPP, PL), Here in our Committee we have identified several member states in the European Union that appear prominently in the Panama Papers. This is not a secret among them Luxembourg, Malta, the UK. My question is  to what extend in this countries happens to be those identify by us? and happened to be also on the list of countries that failed to implement the necessary obligations?

SOUNDBITE (German), Werner LANGEN (EPP, DE), Chairman, I think this is important with regard to  the implementation of the forth anti-Money Laundering directed. That's need to be implemented because there are not much point to be escaped. As time one force has been implemented, another things are really being drown on up. So, I think the question whetter  there are not indecent institutions like the financial transport are really able to carry on the evaluation or somebody in the commissions should do it itself.

SOUNDBITE (English), V&#277;ra JOUROV&#193;, Member of the EC in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, We are autonomous in these assessment. Of course, I will ask how it is possible that Panama disappear from the list because it happened in February this year and it was surprising. Bahama is not on the list at all, so of course this is a relevant question and the Commission has to full feel this role as autonomous assessor of this . But we cannot absolved efficiency because we want to be efficient in our work we cannot duplicate the work which has been already done by the financal department.