Financial regulation

Greece and Romania have been referred to the European Court for not adopting the European Union directive against money laundering.

The EU's committee of permanent representatives (Coreper) today endorsed an agreement between the Council, represented by the Bulgarian presidency, and the European Parliament on a draft regulation aimed at improving controls on cash entering or leaving the Union.

The Central Bank of Cyprus has just made it harder for brokers to set up front companies on the island, following pressure from US officials who say more needs to be done to combat money laundering.

On 7 June 2018, the Council (at ambassadors' level) confirmed the agreement reached between the Bulgarian presidency and the Parliament on new rules on using criminal law to counter money laundering. The new directive aims at disrupting and blocking access by criminals to  financial resources, including those used for terrorist activities. 

European Union governments are considering new rules to counter money laundering after alleged wrongdoing at two banks in smaller states of the bloc flagged risks to financial stability, according to officials and an EU document.

Greece's counterterrorism unit has arrested 14 people - 13 Greeks and one foreign national - on charges of funding a terrorist organization and money laundering.

The defendants, 11 men and three women, were detained Tuesday morning on arrest warrants issued by an investigative magistrate.

Eurozone member Latvia is scrambling to reform its banking sector after U.S. authorities accused its third largest lender of large-scale money laundering with connections to North Korea's nuclear weapons development program.

Spain detained a man suspected as a leader of an organized group of cyber criminals who stole nearly 1 billion euros from over 100 banks in 40 countries around the world since 2013, said Europol. Money laundering has been done with the help of three generations of malicious software. It penetrated banking systems through electronic communications of bank employees.

Greece's four systemic banks will make additional provisions totaling between 5 and 6 billion euros for the 2017 financial year in the context of adopting the new financial reporting standard IFRS 9. These provisions will directly burden the lenders' capital and will not have an impact on their financial results.

South Korea will ban the use of anonymous bank accounts in cryptocurrency trading from Jan. 30, regulators said on Tuesday in a widely telegraphed move designed to stop virtual coins from being used for money laundering and other crimes, according to Reuters.