Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Finance the degree to which he alone or in conjunction with his EU colleagues has provided or intends to provide adequate protection against money laundering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17551/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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EU action in the area of anti-money laundering is primarily contained in the Third Money Laundering Directive (Directive 2005/60/EC). Primary responsibility for domestic legislation in the anti-money laundering area lies with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who has transposed the Directive into Irish law in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Bill 2009 which is completing its consideration by the Oireachtas this week. The Bill also consolidates the existing money laundering provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1994.

The Criminal Justice Act 1994 imposed obligations on financial institutions and, more recently, on lawyers, accountants and auctioneers to identify their clients and report suspicious transactions to the Garda Síochána and to the Revenue Commissioners. The new legislation strengthens the existing anti-money laundering legislation by, among other requirements, widening the offence of money laundering, establishing a system of compliance monitoring by competent authorities, requiring designated persons to identify the beneficial ownership of unlisted companies and trusts and introducing the concept of a risked based approach which will enable designated persons to concentrate resources on higher risk areas.

The new legislation will also strengthen the powers of the Financial Regulator by allowing him to impose administrative sanctions for breaches of its provisions. The Financial Regulator is also devoting substantial additional resources to the inspection of credit and financial institutions to ensure compliance with their anti-money laundering obligations.

Apart from the Third Money Laundering Directive the EU has also introduced regulations to ensure full identification of persons transmitting funds by wire transfer (EC Regulation 1781/2006) and to require declaration of large cross-border cash movements (EC Regulation 1889/2005). These Regulations have direct effect in all Member States. The issues of money laundering and criminality generally are also regularly discussed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council.