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05.06.2008 - Czech Senate approves new rules for money laundering fight
The government bill that will now be sent to President Vaclav Klaus for signature is to take effect within two months since the publication in the Law Gazette.
Under the bill, people will have to identify themselves for a transaction exceeded 1000 euros (25,000 crowns).
"They will have to come to terms with the fact that they will have to identify themselves for a transaction exceeding 1000 euros," Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (junior governing Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) told the senators today.
At present, financial institutions are obliged to require personal documents only EU tightens rules for lobbyists ...
Danes suspected of robbery to be taken to homeland from CzechRep ... for the transactions exceeding 100,000 crowns.
The data on clients' names would be stored by banks for the event of the transactions being later investigated by the police.
Alena Gajduskova, chairwoman of the senior opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) senators' group, also supported the bill.
"It is necessary to do everything to prevent financial terrorism," she said.
The adoption of the euro in the Czech Republic could also help because it would prevent the legalisation of money originating from criminal activities that is not kept in banks, she said.
"The globe is small, money is transferred at lightning speed, frauds are crafty and the adoption of the euro alone will not save us from the legalisation [of dirty money]," Kalousek reacted.
The new rules and mainly the directive had opponents in the Senate.
"As it is taking on the European directive the question is whether these steps will have any real effect and whether they are not only the restrictions of our freedom," Richard Svoboda (senior ruling Civic Democrats, ODS) said, explaining why the Senate foreign committee did not support the bill.
Senator Vlastimil Sehnal (ODS) said previously that the statement that the bill is to help in the fight against financing terrorism and organised crime because it will make legalising profits from crime more difficult was only a pretext.
He said he saw the banking lobby behind the European directive "that wants us to put all the money we keep at home in banks and pay fees."
Apart from banking institutions, lawyers, notaries, court distrainers, auditors and tax advisers are obliged to register dubious transactions at present.
Under the new law, businessmen who will accept direct payments exceeding 375,000 crowns will also have such duty.
($1=15.950 Czech crowns)
(Ceske Noviny)
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