Casa calls for enhanced EU powers to combat money laundering

"Laws are not worth the paper they are printed on unless they are fairly enforced," said the newly appointed Questor of the European Parliament, David Casa MEP.

Today MEPs of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee discussed with the Chair of the European Banking Authority (EBA), José Manuel Campa, and a senior representative of the European Commission the state of the implementation of anti-money laundering legislation.

During this exchange of views, MEP Casa recalled that the comprehensive EU laws on anti-money laundering that have already been enacted can only be effective if they are correctly enforced.

"During the last legislature there were many examples of financial entities that went on operating despite their involvement in international corruption and money laundering. In the case of the infamous Pilatus Bank in Malta such evidence was in the public domain for over a year before the bank´s license was withdrawn. In fact, serious concerns related to the banks connection to corruption and money laundering was referenced in multiple resolutions of this Parliament. This must not happen again," said David Casa.

"In many cases action was only taken by national and European authorities after US authorities had already identified the problems. The EBA has been granted greater powers to combat money laundering. While this development is welcome, there are questions on whether these powers will be sufficient. Challenges will inevitably continue to arise when financial entities involved in illicit activity benefit from high level protection. These challenges must be overcome," insisted David Casa MEP.