Institutional Framework of Combating Money Laundering in the European Union
pages 289 - 302
ABSTRACT:

Money laundering is associated with efforts to obtain property from illicit actions. The need to use proceeds of criminal activities generates the need to get rid of this gain of illegal origin – money needs to be laundered. The international community has gradually become aware of the necessity of adopting a common and coordinated approach in tackling money laundering and that is why international treaties started to be adopted to fight these activities. Different countries have established organizations and institutions that deal with combating money laundering. In this respect, a key role has been played by the Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). Individual states have set up their Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), which should actively contribute to preventing the misuse of financial systems within their territories. Also, the European Union has adopted measures which help incorporate the FATF standards into the legislation of its Member States. Some European Union bodies also actively participate in preventing and prosecuting money laundering, yet the powers to suppress this illegal activity still lie largely in the hands of the Member States.

keywords
EU law
Money laundering
Financial Intelligence Units
Financial Analytical Unit
OLAF
Europol
FATF
about the authors

Nicole Grmelová graduated from Charles University Law School, Prague and the Law Faculty of Universidad de Sevilla. She defended her Ph.D. thesis at the Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, where she teaches courses on EU Institutions and EU Law as a Senior Lecturer. Between 2004 and 2008 she worked as a lawyer-linguist for the European Parliament in Brussels and later cooperated with the Court of Justice of the European Union.

e-mail: nicole.grmelova@vse.cz

Doc. JUDr. Hana Marková, CSc., assistant professor (docent) of Financial Law and Financial Sciences at the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague. Vice-dean of the faculty. She is dealing with teaching and research work. Area of specialization: budgetary law, tax law and fi nancial performance of local governments. To these issues has also published numerous articles in professional journals.

e-mail: markova@prf.cuni.cz