Irish bookmakers and online gambling operators will be required to take on greater responsibility for the deterrence of money laundering, under new rules introduced by the Irish government.
Charlie Flanagan, the Minister for Justice and Equality, announced the new laws, which include a variety of measures targeting money laundering and the financial support of terrorism. Gambling operators will be required to take the same responsibility for suspicious or unusual transactions that apply to banks and other financial companies.
The rules will apply in all cases where the money withdrawn or deposited by the customer is over €2,000, although there are exceptions for transactions associated with traditionally low-risk areas such as lotteries, amusement machines and bingo.
Destroying lives
The rules form part of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2018, and speaking about the importance of the new legislative framework, Flanagan emphasised the importance of the laws in tackling serious crime:
Money laundering is a crime that helps serious criminals and terrorists to function, destroying lives in the process. Criminals seek to exploit the EU’s open borders and this EU-wide measure is really important for that reason.”
The Act will also give the Gardaí’s Financial Intelligence Unit greater powers to investigate suspicious transactions and the ability to co-operate more easily with other police forces around the world in the fight against money laundering. Along with bookmakers, the range of businesses that will be required to meet the anti-money laundering standard, has been increased to include any company that accepts payments of €10,000 or more, an increase from the previous level of €15,000.
