European Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Directive - EU Directive no. 2018/843, May 30, 2018

Under the new EU regulations that came into force at the request of the European Commission on 12 September 2019, entitled: State of the Union 2018 - enhanced monitoring of money laundering to ensure the stability of the banking and financial sectors, companies intending to open a new current account, whether existing or newly established, must undergo rigorous structural and financial checks, both personal and related to the area in which they are located, in particular towards legal organizations seeking to open an account abroad.

This control appears to have been raised in relation to money laundering problems for the benefit of criminal and terrorist organizations. The directive should take into account the so-called “Outlawed states,” or whose legal regulations are not similar to European ones.

However, it seems that this directive will primarily affect small and medium-sized companies, to a greater extent than large or listed companies. For example, the time required to open a current account in all European countries, which includes new European companies as well, ranges from 2 to 3 months, disregarding the laws of the Member States of the Union.

According to the verification indicators for maintaining bank accounts and opening new ones, the areas within the EU Member States also appear to be affected, thus discriminating against persons and companies in those areas. All this is contrary to Directive 2014/92 on the basic account, that is, everyone has the right to open a checking account, regardless of their personal position. True, the Directive does not mention the right to a company account, but by law it must have an account to perform its own business, or risk closure, or for all forms of payment it must perform a whole series of actions in connection with the use of the account.

It is expected that European regulations will be considered soon, otherwise there will be strong repercussions, both at the economic and investment levels and at the company level. The blocking that happens in this way only benefits big businesses.