Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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37. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of the actions Ireland must take, whether through his Department, the Oireachtas or the Central Bank, to comply with the EU anti-money laundering directive; the body responsible for each measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53155/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The proposed 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, currently being negotiated at the Council of the EU, will update and replace the 3rd EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and reflect the views of Member States on the operation of the existing system. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ) Act 2010 transposes the 3rd EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive into Irish Law. This Act provides for a number of competent authorities for the different classes of designated persons as set out in the Act. The Central Bank of Ireland is specified in the Act as the State competent authority for credit and financial institutions.

The Commission's proposal for a Directive inter alia:

- Extends existing provisions for casinos to all gambling;

- Reduces the transaction threshold at which traders in high value goods are required to identify customers from €15,000 to €7,500;

- Sets out a framework for minimum administrative sanctions to apply across Member States;

- Requires all companies to hold information on their beneficial owners;

- Clarifies the application of AML Rules to cross-border subsidiaries between home and host supervisors;

- Strengthens the powers of Financial Intelligence Units (receivers of suspicious transactions reports (STRs);

- Extends provisions applying to foreign Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) to domestic PEPs on a risk-sensitive basis.