Cyprus fulfills EU anti-laundering directive after 5 years

This appeared in The Millennial Source

After members of the European Union identified Cyprus as a country that practiced money laundering, the country established a UBO registry in order to eventually meet the standards provided by the fifth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive.

In February 2021, reports indicated that Cyprus was establishing an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) registry in order to identify registered company owners and compile that information within a database. The main goal of this database is to deter money laundering and financial terrorism practices, but the registry wasn’t entirely established on the country’s own volition.

After members of the European Union identified Cyprus as a country that practiced money laundering, the country established a UBO registry in order to eventually meet the standards provided by the fifth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive, as laid out by the EU.

A brief history of AML directives

In 1991, the EU established the first AML Directive (1AMLD) in order to combat money laundering via organized crime in the represented states. The 1AMLD established 40 recommendations that primarily focused on the responsibilities of the banks and financial institutions in order to…