Irish regulations passed in February 2022 provided for a central database of information to be supplied by credit institutions on safe-deposit boxes and bank and payment accounts. The regulations were brought into force to give further effect to the EU fourth and fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directives.
The regulations are the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Central Mechanism for Information on Safe-Deposit Boxes and Bank and Payment Accounts) Regulations 2022. (SI No .46/2022) (the Regulations). They were further amended in September 2022, and they authorise the Central Bank of Ireland to establish and maintain a central register of information on safe-deposit boxes and bank and payment accounts.
Under the Regulations a member of FIU Ireland (which is defined by reference back to the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010) can carry out searches and retrieve information from the database. It is expected that these rights of access will be extended in future to other entities such as the Revenue Commissioners, but this will have to be by further legislation in the area.
In March 2022 the Institute as part of CCAB-I issued updated Anti Money Laundering guidance (TR01-2019) and we reported that the Irish Central Bank was finalising technical requirements for the central database. By way of update, it has recently launched a webpage Ireland Safe Deposit Box Bank and Payment Accounts Register (ISBAR). It sets out the information to be contained on the register and says that the register ensures that flows of money can be properly traced to individuals, entities and illicit networks at an early stage. Technical guidance documents and a reporting template are also accessible on the page.
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