Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the fines imposed on a bank (details supplied) for breaches of money laundering rules. [20724/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I, as Minister for Finance, have no function in the relationship between the Irish banks and their regulator, the Central Bank of Ireland. The Central Bank is the statutory supervisory and enforcement authority for regulated financial services providers in Ireland, and it is also responsible for protecting the consumer of financial services. As such, it is the independent responsibility of the Central Bank to ensure that financial institutions and individuals are held accountable for their compliance with anti-money laundering ("AML") and countering the financing of terrorism ("CFT") preventative obligations set out in Criminal Justice Act 2010 (CJA 2010).

I am advised by the Central Bank that its recent investigation into designated persons' compliance with AML and CFT preventative obligations was conducted under the Central Bank's Administrative Sanctions Procedure (ASP) as per Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942.

One of the relevant AML/CFT breaches for an ASP case can be a breach of section 42 of the CJA 2010, which requires designated persons to submit a suspicious transaction report ("STR") to An Garda Síochána and to the Revenue Commissioners "as soon as practicable". Designated persons are obliged to submit STRs where a suspicion or knowledge of money laundering or terrorist financing arises during the course of business.

For the purpose of clarification, an investigation under ASP is not a criminal investigation. The Central Bank's supervisory remit is to monitor credit and financial institutions for compliance with AML/CFT control measures.  It has not a statutory remit to investigate or prosecute substantive money laundering or terrorist financing offences. Any fine that is imposed for AML/CFT breaches by the Central Bank under ASP relates to control breaches and not to actual money laundering or terrorist financing offences.