A new report released by the EU Commission that looked at cases of alleged money laundering made several findings about some banks operating in the EU, including that they were negligent when it came to anti-money laundering (“AML“) law compliance in respect of the cases it looked at.
The EU Report found that shortcomings identified in the cases it looked at of alleged money laundering by banks were driven by negligence. It also found that some banks made decisions to favour lucrative business lines at the expense of AML compliance. It also found that banks take too long to address AML deficiencies, and some banks have risky practices where they do not increase AML compliance to accommodate more risky lines of business. It also found that there were governance flaws at banks that impacted AML compliance.
The Report suggested that bank supervisory agencies be held accountable for their actions to ensure banks comply with the law.
The Report is called “Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Assessment of Recent Alleged Money Laundering Cases.”