In the fight against money laundering, the EU countries have agreed on a cash limit of 10,000 euros. On Wednesday, representatives of the countries agreed on a position on new laws against the financing of terrorism and money laundering. “Large cash payments over 10,000 euros will be impossible,” said Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura, who led the negotiations in the council.
In addition, restrictions for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are planned. Now the EU Parliament still has to find a position before the states and members of parliament can negotiate on it. Germany is critical of the cash limit and abstained from parts of the package. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) said earlier this week that cash is also an expression of privacy and data protection. Despite the German abstention, the upper limit will probably come.
The new rules also stipulate that crypto service providers must check information about their customers. The EU states are demanding that this should apply to transactions of 1000 euros or more. There should also be special due diligence requirements for cross-border transactions. “It will become much more difficult to remain anonymous when buying and selling cryptocurrencies,” Stanjura said.
People who trade in valuable metals, stones and cultural assets as well as jewels or watches would also have to adhere to stricter rules.
Part of the EU Commission’s 2021 anti-money laundering proposals was a new anti-money laundering agency. The states had already agreed on this – only where this should be set up is still unclear. The federal government would like to bring the new authority to Frankfurt am Main.