A Critical View of the French Legal Framework for Fighting Money Laundering: The Obligation to Monitor and Report on Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Type de matériel :
25
This paper expresses a critical view of the French legal system for fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The French legal framework set forth to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism has undergone substantial changes over the past year, with the objective of making it more efficient. The number of professionals legally bound to monitor and report suspected financial transactions is growing every year and will certainly increase in the years to come. At the same time, Decree 2009-104 of January 30, 2009 set forth policies aiming at protecting the global financial system against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This decree strengthened the system by increasing the monitoring obligations of the professionals involved in the process (including chartered accountants and statutory auditors) on the one hand, and by broadening the scope of the obligation to report suspected financial transactions on the other. Although the legal framework was tightened, the number of suspected financial transactions reported remains small, with a volume of suspected transactions reported by chartered accountants and statutory auditors ranging from 0.13% to 0.03% only of all declarations received by TRACFIN in 2008. In view of the important role of these professionals in the regulation of the economy, substantial progress could and should be made in monitoring and reporting suspected financial transactions.
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