Brussels, 6 June 2023
The Commission welcomes today’s political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council to provide law enforcement better and faster access to financial information. This agreement is key in the fight against serious and organised crime. Serious and organised crime knows no borders. Hence authorities carrying out investigations in one Member State often need to access information on bank accounts held in other Member States.
The new rules will provide law enforcement authorities quick access to information on the accounts where criminals and terrorists keep or hide their funds or assets. The agreed Directive will give them access to the single access point interconnecting bank account registers and it will harmonise the format in which banks and crypto companies send transaction records to the investigating authorities. Faster tracing of assets derived from crime will also allow more effective confiscation of criminal profits.
The new EU Directive will provide for:
- Direct access to bank account information across the Union: Law enforcement authorities and Asset Recovery Offices will have direct access to bank account information across the Union, through the single access point interconnecting bank account registries. This will enable the authorities to identify the banks in which suspects hold their accounts. Data protection safeguards will ensure that only limited information on the identity of the bank account holder would be made available.
- A common format for transaction records: the Directive will establish a common format for banks and crypto companies to provide the information on transactions – i.e., transaction records – to law enforcement authorities. The specifics of the format will be defined in an implementing act. Access to this information will be granted in accordance with national rules and procedural safeguards.
Next steps
The Directive must still be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.
Background
The Commission’s Action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing underlined that an EU-wide interconnection of national centralised bank account registers is necessary to grant law enforcement authorities and Financial Intelligence Units faster access by to financial information and facilitate cross-border cooperation.
This is also highlighted in the EU Security Union Strategy and the Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU. Moreover, this the agreed Directive complements the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), which establishes the interconnection of bank account registers, by providing law enforcement authorities access to the interconnected registers.
For More Information
Proposal for a Directive on the access of competent authorities to centralised bank account registries through the single access point (see also the staff working document).
Commission website on Confiscation and Asset Recovery