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      The prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing serves to protect against financial crime and is an important factor for an attractive business location. In addition to state supervisory and law enforcement authorities, private-sector players in the financial and non-financial sectors also play a central role in this.

      The topic is particularly important at European level. On 20 July 2021, the European Commission published a comprehensive package of measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This includes the draft EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, the draft for the 6th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the proposal to create a new supervisory authority and the revised version of the Money Transfers Regulation.

      New regulations and extensions

      The Money Laundering Regulation aims to standardise the implementation of measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing at EU Member State level. The proposal for the 6th EU Money Laundering Directive:

      • contains provisions on supranational and national risk analyses as well as provisions on register obligations.
      • is intended to regulate the responsibilities and tasks of central reporting offices and supervisory authorities
      • concretise cooperation with competent authorities for affected companies
      • is to create a new supervisory authority for combating money laundering.

      The EU package of measures also includes

      • Proposals for a revised EU money transfer regulation. The existing definitions of terms are to be expanded to include "crypto asset" and "crypto service provider" and the term "virtual currencies" is to be interpreted more comprehensively.
      • The complete traceability of originators and recipients of payments should be ensured in future, particularly with regard to crypto service providers.
      • The proposed regulation also includes standardised KYC regulations, requirements for the continuous monitoring of transactions and a ban on anonymous crypto wallets.

      The transparency register is becoming more comprehensive

      In addition to the Money Laundering Act, the Transparency Register and Financial Information Act also poses challenges for companies. With the conversion of the transparency register from a catch-all to a full register, all legal entities under private law and registered partnerships must identify their beneficial owners, keep the information up to date and actively report it to the transparency register for entry.

      Closely related to money laundering and terrorist financing are the challenges in relation to sanctions and embargoes. Due to the global political situation, sanctions and embargoes are subject to constant change. This leads to numerous challenges for companies with an international purchasing and/or sales market. The legal risks arising from the incorrect interpretation of relevant regulations (particularly those of the EU and the USA) and the resulting violations must therefore be assessed, monitored and managed in a functioning governance system.

      Obligations for companies

      Until the planned regulations come into force, the provisions of the Money Laundering Act will continue to apply. All obliged entities must carry out a money laundering-related risk analysis in accordance with their risk profile and take appropriate security measures. These include, in particular, due diligence obligations in relation to business partners, obligations in connection with the reporting of suspected cases and, if necessary, the introduction of group-wide procedures. In addition, a whistleblower system must be set up to enable the confidential reporting of money laundering offences.

      Fines may be imposed for non-compliance with the regulations. It should be noted that it is sufficient for a fine to be imposed if effective prevention mechanisms are not in place in accordance with the Money Laundering Act.

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      Our range of services

      We support you with the following services to meet the many challenges in the context of preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions offences:

      Clarification and processing of suspicious facts

      • Support in processing the findings of internal audit, the external auditor of the annual financial statements or special auditor and other internal and external bodies
      • Advice on adapting guidelines, processes and measures, taking into account best-practice solution approaches
      • Carrying out look-back analyses to identify and process defects
      • Forensic investigation of matters relating to money laundering, terrorist financing or sanctions offences

      Consultancy and testing

      • Advice on compliance with legal and regulatory requirements relating to the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions offences
      • Implementation and monitoring of supervisory reviews
      • Support within the framework of nationally and internationally initiated corporate monitorships

      Prevention

      • Status check and gap analysis of money laundering-related risk management
      • Advice on all aspects of economic sanctions
      • Analysing money laundering-related risks, taking into account the company-specific risk profile
      • Identification of business partners and clarification of the beneficial owner (KYC)
      • Advice on embedding money laundering prevention in the compliance strategy, taking into account best-practice solution approaches
      • Advice on the allocation of responsibilities (three lines of defence), structural and procedural organisation and suitable controls
      • Definition of processes and required documentation as well as development of training concepts
      • Conducting training courses for employees and management
      • Support in the design and implementation of a whistleblower system
      • Support with reporting to the transparency register
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