Charities operating in “higher-risk regions” are set to receive guidance on how they can avoid inadvertently financing terrorists as part of a new Government plan to fight financial crime.
The 30-point plan will outline a series of measures aimed at fighting financial crime, money laundering and terrorist financing, The Irish Times has established.
Under the plan, a dedicated national group to co-ordinate terror-financing and sanctions-evasion efforts will be established.
The group will be comprised of Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, regulators, Revenue, the Central Bank and the departments of foreign affairs and justice.
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The plan will also look to ensure financial institutions keep pace with new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, and to create a framework streamlining information collection and sharing around suspicious financial activity.
Led by the departments of justice and finance, the plan will also include measures aimed at cracking down on the use of the gambling industry for money laundering.
The Government will look to create a ‘closed loop’ system, whereby gambling operators will be forced to return winnings to the same bank account as was used to make the deposit.
It is envisaged this measure, among others, will increase the difficulty of laundering money. It is understood gardaí have identified gambling as a common method of cleaning money.
So-called ‘casino-style’ gambling venues are planned to be brought under anti-money-laundering oversight and, alongside private members’ gambling clubs, will be regulated more heavily.
The action plan would, The Irish Times has learned, include a commitment to standardising the processes for recommending people or organisations for European Union or United Nations sanctions and for the implementation of sanctions when required.
The Government is also expected to outline a series of measure to increase the transparency of Irish-registered companies, including independently verifying information filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO).
Limited partnerships could be required to disclose their ultimate ownership party and a review will be carried out of the restrictions on the use of company structures that can obscure ownership details through secrecy jurisdictions.
Behind every scam are “real victims, real communities and real economic consequences”, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris is set to say at the announcement on Thursday, alongside the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
Alongside the action plan, the State’s national risk assessment on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing is set to be published later today.
The misuse of cryptocurrency assets, terrorist financing concerns and vulnerabilities linked to global financial networks have been identified by the State as some of Ireland’s biggest financial risks.
It is understood the assessment will say that Ireland is facing a ‘moderate’ threat of the economy being used for money laundering.
However, it will identify that criminals are using increasingly sophisticated technologies and methods in their crimes.
