Everyone has heard of the term “Money Laundering”, but most fail to understand what exactly it is and how it affects not only our daily lives but also a county’s economy. Money Laundering is an illegal process that individuals can take advantage of to hide the origins of where money was obtained illegally. This is most often done by passing the money through a complex number of bank transfers to eventually erase and hide where the money originated. In the end, the money launderer receives the “clean” money.

Ireland has had a history of struggling with cracking down on money laundering, and in light of having to pay nearly 2 million Euro to the European Commission in July 2020 for failing to implement regulations, a new law has been passed in an attempt to begin intensifying legislation around anti-money laundering. The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Bill 2020, was signed on May 5th, 2020.

This Bill aims to:
1: Prevent the creation of anonymous safe-deposit boxes by credit and financial institutions
2: Continuously improve on the customer due diligence of already existing legislation
3: implement the law to a number of new bodies, including virtual currency providers and associated online wallet providers, as well as intermediaries in the art trade
4: Enhance the number and reach of safeguards for financial transactions to and from third-world countries that are higher-risk, as well as set limits on the use of anonymous pre-paid cards that are often used when scamming

The new Bill overrides some aspects of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, such as increasing transparency on ownership of corporate entities and registering all capital of said entities, including vehicles and facilities.

With all the specifics of the Bill now open to the public, many individuals are starting to realize the serious consequences of money-laundering. Money-laundering is a crime that helps many illegal entities such as terrorists and criminal organizations to function. This destroys lives and ruins the financial status of many individuals. But on a less serious scale, money-laundering is also used in money scams. With the new passage of The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Bill 2020, Ireland and Europe borders as a whole hope to see a largely reduced number of incidents related to Money Laundering.

Relevant Links:
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4d79469f-42d9-4ecf-81a7-6c20800fdf72
https://www.simmons-simmons.com/en/publications/ckhqcf7sv1qrn0976m00q9w9c/criminal-justice-bill-2020-key-features