In future, financial information will also be queried across borders for serious crimes, and even more authorities will have access. Banks and other financial service providers will have to adhere to deadlines for the release of financial information. In Germany, the EU directive is likely to increase competition between customs and the criminal police.
The European Union wants to expand the cross-border use of financial information. Data from central bank account registers will not only be used to combat money laundering and terrorism, but also to prosecute serious crimes. This is the result of a proposal for a directive on „facilitating the use of financial and other information“ presented by the European Commission in April and now being discussed by the Council and Parliament. The proposed Directive is part of the „European Security Agenda“ adopted in April 2015. „EU-wide use of bank retention data to facilitate financial investigations“ weiterlesen