Starting on April 27, and finishing on May 2, the European Parliament (EP)’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) is holding two meetings to present several related studies which address the impact of, and the fight against, tax evasion and money laundering, particularly in light of the Panama Papers scandal. As we discuss below, some of these studies focus on the roles of lawyers as potential facilitators of tax evasion and money laundering. Although the EP recently has described the United States as an emerging tax and money laundering haven, as we previously have blogged, the EP interestingly now has looked to the United States as a partial model for how to govern lawyers serving clients who may be attempting to commit tax evasion or money laundering, as we describe below.
European Union
AML Rules for Payment Industry Proposed by European Union Regulators
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESA) issued on February 10, 2017 draft rules regarding certain anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism steps for Member States of the European Union (EU). The draft rules seek to provide a consistent framework for payment service providers or electronic money issuers which provide cross-border services within the…