Berlin (Reuters) – The federal government has introduced changes to the fight against money laundering.
According to government representatives, the cabinet gave the green light for a corresponding draft law on Wednesday. “We are now bundling the different competencies within the fight against money laundering in a new authority with sufficient staff and a modern IT infrastructure,” said Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). “We are also improving the legal framework. This is the only way we will be able to get the big fish into the net in the future.”
Money laundering is more widespread in Germany than in many other countries. An international expert committee confirmed that Germany had made progress in the summer of 2022, but still sees a need for improvement. Above all, there is a lack of effective law enforcement.
Specifically, criminal investigations and the coordination of money laundering supervision are to be brought together in the new Federal Office to Combat Financial Crime (BBF). In 2025, the Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement (ZfS) will also be located there. However, the responsibilities of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Customs Investigation Service (ZFD) as well as the role of the state public prosecutor’s offices in combating money laundering remain. A real estate transaction register is to be set up to prevent abuse on the market and ensure greater transparency. Information from electronic notices of sale is stored in the register.
According to previous information from the Ministry of Finance, the BBF should have 1,700 employees and locations in Cologne and Dresden.
(Report by Christian Krämer, edited by Hans Seidenstücker. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and economics) or [email protected] (for companies and markets).)