Money laundering is an age old job and the financial systems within the European Union are trying to attain a more stainless system. This feat is not an easy one as "dirty" money becomes more of a vehicle in acts of terror. For this reason, EU member countries are keeping a closer eye on their financial institutions and the transactions that occur within them, with or without the EU umbrella.
The European Union has thus far proposed four, different Anti-Money Laundering Directives: 91/308/EEC, 2001/97/EC, 2005/60/EC and in December 2014, the EU agreed on the final text of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will become law pending a final vote in the European Parliament.
Significant amendments to the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, "include tightening up of rules for politically exposed persons, more effective cooperation between EU Financial Intelligence Units, and the adoption of a “risk-based approach’".
The problem here is that cooperation between EU members should have been a pre-requisite before the EU was established and not after lives have been taken repeatedly by laundered terror money.
Moreover, Transparency International, "the global coalition against corruption's" EU Office states on its website that, "once the Directive is finally endorsed by the European Parliament in plenary (expected in April or May), EU Member States have two years to transpose the new standards into their national legislation."
Therefore, we are witness to two major problems:
The fact is that people are still dying as a result of European laundering routes.
The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT), which was established in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States of America (US), as a reporting mechanism from the Terrorism Working Party (TWP) of the Council of the EU to the European Parliament spells it out for us in its annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT):
2011 Report:
The European Union has thus far proposed four, different Anti-Money Laundering Directives: 91/308/EEC, 2001/97/EC, 2005/60/EC and in December 2014, the EU agreed on the final text of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will become law pending a final vote in the European Parliament.
Significant amendments to the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, "include tightening up of rules for politically exposed persons, more effective cooperation between EU Financial Intelligence Units, and the adoption of a “risk-based approach’".
The problem here is that cooperation between EU members should have been a pre-requisite before the EU was established and not after lives have been taken repeatedly by laundered terror money.
Moreover, Transparency International, "the global coalition against corruption's" EU Office states on its website that, "once the Directive is finally endorsed by the European Parliament in plenary (expected in April or May), EU Member States have two years to transpose the new standards into their national legislation."
Therefore, we are witness to two major problems:
- The EU has not found a way to create a completely uniform system for all of its member countries and loopholes can be found, exactly where terrorists are looking for them.
- Too much time is being granted to implant this legislation in each EU country.
The fact is that people are still dying as a result of European laundering routes.
The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT), which was established in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States of America (US), as a reporting mechanism from the Terrorism Working Party (TWP) of the Council of the EU to the European Parliament spells it out for us in its annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT):
2011 Report:
- 174 terrorist attacks in EU Member States
- 484 individuals arrested in the EU for terrorist related offences
- Lone actors were responsible for the killing of two persons in Germany, and 77 persons in Norway
- 316 individuals in concluded court proceedings for terrorism charges
- 17 people died as a result of terrorist attacks in the EU
- 219 terrorist attacks carried out in EU Member States
- 537 individuals arrested in the EU for terrorist related offences
- Court proceedings for terrorism charges concluded in relation to a total of 400 individuals
- 7 people died as a result of terrorist attacks in the EU
- 152 terrorist attacks were carried out in EU Member States
- 535 individuals were arrested in the EU for terrorism-related offences
- Court proceedings for terrorism charges were concluded in relation to 313 individual
How much does the European Union value the lives of its citizens? How much does the EU value the lives of people at all? It is unfortunate when individual EU countries must take matters into their own hands and re-define how financial institutions are to contend with terrorist funding.
Some banks including, Hrvatska Narodna Banka, (The Croatian National Bank), The Central Bank of Ireland and the UK as a whole have taken it upon themselves to further define or enact financial sanctions as the halfhearted approach of the European Union system has proven ineffective in protecting its citizens.
For example, the Central Bank of Ireland's Report on Anti -Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Financial Sanctions Compliance in the Irish Banking Sector states that:
While banks had documented FS policies and procedures, the Central Bank observed that in many instances such policies and procedures do not provide sufficient detail to understand the banks’ FS compliance programme requirements. FS procedures commonly fail to contain sufficient detail with regard to the grounds for discounting a potential FS match and the level of investigation required for each match. Failing to have prescriptive FS investigation and escalation policies and procedures may result in inconsistencies and a lack of specificity in recorded rationales.
But there are banks on the other side of this spectrum, and this is even more worrisome. The Triodos Bank's Brussels, Belgium branch is an accomplice to a well-known, camouflaged terrorist organization which uses the financial institution's infrastructures to promote terror. Formerly known to the world as the al-Aqsa Foundation, Aksahum, utilizes the services of the Triodos Bank in one of the EU member countries freely. Under the pretext of a charity fund, this organsation is taking advantage of the lack of uniformity of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and laissez-fair approach and meanwhile, the next terror attack is being planned write under the EU's nose.
Some banks including, Hrvatska Narodna Banka, (The Croatian National Bank), The Central Bank of Ireland and the UK as a whole have taken it upon themselves to further define or enact financial sanctions as the halfhearted approach of the European Union system has proven ineffective in protecting its citizens.
For example, the Central Bank of Ireland's Report on Anti -Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Financial Sanctions Compliance in the Irish Banking Sector states that:
While banks had documented FS policies and procedures, the Central Bank observed that in many instances such policies and procedures do not provide sufficient detail to understand the banks’ FS compliance programme requirements. FS procedures commonly fail to contain sufficient detail with regard to the grounds for discounting a potential FS match and the level of investigation required for each match. Failing to have prescriptive FS investigation and escalation policies and procedures may result in inconsistencies and a lack of specificity in recorded rationales.
But there are banks on the other side of this spectrum, and this is even more worrisome. The Triodos Bank's Brussels, Belgium branch is an accomplice to a well-known, camouflaged terrorist organization which uses the financial institution's infrastructures to promote terror. Formerly known to the world as the al-Aqsa Foundation, Aksahum, utilizes the services of the Triodos Bank in one of the EU member countries freely. Under the pretext of a charity fund, this organsation is taking advantage of the lack of uniformity of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and laissez-fair approach and meanwhile, the next terror attack is being planned write under the EU's nose.