Money Laundering Laws, Technology and Keeping Up With Criminals
By Nadja van der Veer
Co-Founder, Payments Lawyer, PaymentCounsel
By its very nature, the constantly evolving world of e-commerce, technology and globalization creates new opportunities for financial crime. Although governments and authorities are taking action, criminals continue to find ways around these measures.
Is Legislation Keeping Up With the New Age of Cybercrime?
The central guidance is the European Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive. There is now a fifth version designed to reflect the nature and speed of technological growth, but it will certainly not be the last.
We should not forget the practical impact of any legislative changes. When it comes to making an online payment, it is critical that this is smooth, swift and secure and that safeguards endorse, but do not stifle, lawful commerce. Unnecessarily strict requirements can have a detrimental impact on the e-commerce sector. Recent regulative AML and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) changes increase complexity and increase the cost of compliance.
Whilst the 4th AML Directive was being prepared, there were already talks about an update as a reaction to the 2016 Paris and Brussels attacks and the revelation of the Panama Papers; hence the arrival of the 5th AML Directive. It seems like the legislators did not anticipate the true impact and operational effect of these newly introduced measures. Payment companies continue to struggle to comply. ...
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