The European Union is looking at implementing stricter regulations against money laundering and other financial crimes, Reuters reported.
The EU is considering tighter controls for sectors at high risk of money laundering, including financial services, gaming and real estate, said Valdis Dombrovski, the bloc's finance commissioner. He said the EU could also reduce the independence of individual member states in imposing laws as the current structure could be exploited, according to the Oct. 10 report.
The potential amendments could also affect intermediaries, such as lawyers or tax advisers. A final decision on the matter is expected in December.
Various EU ministers have reportedly supported the formation of a new bloc-wide agency to replace national regulators' oversight, with Mika Lintilä, Finland's finance minister, saying the new body should have "an independent structure and decision-making."
Some governments oppose amending anti-financial crime rules in the bloc due to concerns that they might be forced to hand over sensitive information, Reuters reported. During the Oct. 10 meeting of EU finance ministers, some ministers, including those from Estonia and Malta, were said to have cautioned against changes.
A host of European banks have recently been under fire for their alleged involvement in laundering huge sums of money, most notably the Estonian branch of Copenhagen-based Danske Bank A/S. In 2018, the European Banking Authority probed Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit over how it imposed anti-money laundering rules at Pilatus Bank, which collapsed earlier that year.
