A register of the beneficial owners of illicit financial transactions will soon be available to the general public as part of a new action plan to combat money laundering, Bercy said on Tuesday.
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The free opening of this register
"which makes it possible to identify the natural persons behind the legal persons (companies)"
will be
"materialized in the next few weeks"
and corresponds to a European requirement, the Ministry of Economy and finance.
Financial transparency will also be strengthened
"on a number of associations,"
added ministry officials.
This requirement for transparency is one of the five strands of the action plan of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Policy Council (COLB).
This plan also includes a reinforcement of the preventive arsenal
"in the direction of the professional sectors which can play a role of watch or guard making it possible to detect suspicious behavior".
On the repressive side, the Tracfin unit, the department of the Ministry of the Economy in charge of the fight against money laundering,
"will now be able to intercept illicit flows and prevent their realization"
and a
"network of referees will be set up in all prosecutors'
on these issues.
The action plan also aims for
"enhanced efficiency of the investigation, prosecution and seizure-confiscation system"
.
The barriers to access to the financial system for terrorists must also be tightened.
The services of the ministry recalled in this regard an ordinance of November 4, 2020 allowing
"to ensure an immediate implementation of the freezing of assets"
.
Finally, the plan provides for increased synergy between the departments of the Ministries of the Economy, Public Accounts, the Interior, Justice and Overseas France for greater efficiency.
