Ref. Ares(2017)5243636 - 26/10/2017
2
“According to my understanding and the strong judgment of the BKA/FIU, the
new law on money laundering - GwBekErgG - does not stipulate, for example,
the responsibilities of the government agencies which should supervise the
enforcement of the money laundering rules and regulations. In this respect, the
new GwBekErgG law is more cosmetic than an improvement of Germany’s
compliance with the EU money laundering directive.
For example, § 16 GwBekErgG “Aufsicht / supervision” rules:
(1) Die nach Absatz 2 zuständigen Behörden üben die Aufsicht über die
Verpflichteten nach § 2 Abs. 1 aus. Die zuständigen Behörden können im
Rahmen der ihnen gesetzlich zugewiesenen Aufgaben die geeigneten und
erforderlichen Maßnahmen und Anordnungen treffen, um die Einhaltung der in
diesem Gesetz festgelegten Anforderungen sicherzustellen. Sie können hierzu
auch die ihnen für sonstige Aufsichtsaufgaben eingeräumten Befugnisse
ausüben.
(2) Die zuständige Behörde für die Durchführung dieses Gesetzes ist
(2.9) im Übrigen die jeweils nach Bundes- oder Landesrecht zuständige Stelle
This means that the government agencies which are responsible for the
supervision of the institutions that, according to the GwBekErgG must report
SARs (Suspicious Activity Report), are clearly not defined. It is by no means
justifiable that a law that is dealing with a serious matter like money laundering,
and which may lead to criminal charges, is so unspecific when it comes to
supervision. Whenever a law is not defined and leaves responsibilities open, the
law will not be enforced.
In the letter dated 23.7.2009 the ministry of finance describes specific shortcomings of
the administration of the Länder to control and prevent money laundering in Germany.
For example ministry of finance confirms that real estate brokers and other professions
are not controlled and therefore will not report SARs. Since the real estate brokers are
not controlled, money laundering through real estate transactions is not prevented.
According to the German LKAs/BKA real estate transactions are used to launder large
amounts of money from illegal sources.
The statement of the ministry of finance dated 23.7.2009 not only confirms the conclu-
sion made in my letter to you dated 27.10.2008, but rather goes with its accusations
against the administration of the Länder far beyond.
even confirmed to
me that the Länder never fully complied with Geldwäschegesetz ever since its
enactment in 1993.
In my letter dated 5.1.2009 I expressed my deep resentment about your statement that
the Commission had closed the infringement case 2005/4572 on 27 November 2008.
Based on the statements and findings of the officials of the ministry of finance dated
23.7.2009, I urge you to either reopen the infringement case 2005/4572 or file imme-