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Skyline of Frankfurt: »The right place«
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
Germany is applying for the seat of the new EU money laundering authority Amla (
Anti Money Laundering Authority
).
"As the most important financial center in continental Europe, Frankfurt am Main is the right place for this," said Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).
His ministry activated the website www.amla-frankfurt.eu as part of the application.
"A strong Amla also needs a strong, credible and sustainable location," says Lindner.
In addition to Frankfurt, there have also been expressions of interest from Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Luxembourg and Vilnius.
The official application process has not yet started.
The application underscores "the German government's claim to give top priority to combating money laundering at national, European and international level," the Federal Ministry of Finance announced.
"In order to quickly and effectively raise the efforts in the fight against money laundering to a new level, the Federal Government believes that a strong and powerful Amla is particularly necessary." In the future, the Amla should, among other things, better coordinate the national authorities.
However, Germany's own reputation for fighting money laundering is mixed.
Among other things, there were allegations against the national financial supervisory authorities in connection with the Wirecard scandal.
Investigations by the international Financial Action Task Force have repeatedly confirmed that the Federal Republic has significant deficits in the fight against money laundering.
dab/AFP