Central Bank warns on money laundering

Ireland faces quite a challenge meeting new standards designed to prevent money laundering ahead of a major international review next year, the Central Bank’s head of enforcement has said.

Derville Rowland said the country will be assessed on technical rules and the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering regime by the international body — the Financial Action Task Force.

The group monitors how countries implement measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other threats to the world’s banking system.

Ireland faces its next assessment by the taskforce in 2016, but “given the increased focus on the outcome of taskforce reviews by other member states, international organisations such as the IMF, rating agencies and international investors, it is in all our interests, both regulators and industry, to ensure that we receive as positive a review as possible in 2016,” she told a gathering of business group Ibec.

However, Ms Rowland said the review “will be quite a challenge for” Ireland because regulators, banks and government will have to show that the country is meeting all the new rules required by the taskforce.

Other countries were finding it “quite a challenge” to score good ratings.

She said the Department of Justice has to transpose a new EU directive into law, which will impose new requirements, including the setting up of a central register of beneficial owners and a list of “politically-exposed persons” in Ireland.

“It is not yet known when the directive will be transposed in Ireland,” Ms Derville said.