General corporate matters: Money laundering directive to be extended

United Kingdom

The European Commission has announced that the EU Directive on combating money laundering is to be made more effective by a forthcoming proposal to extend its scope. The proposal will extend the obligations contained in the 1991 Directive to activities and professions outside the financial services sector, such as auditors, legal professions, real estate agents and casinos. The proposal will also extend the definition of suspicious transactions to cover the proceeds of other serious crimes besides drug trafficking. Such an extension of the Directive will bring EU rules into line with the latest international recommendations. The announcement was featured in a Commission report on implementation of the 1991 Directive.