EU steps toward tighter money-laundering probes
European Union finance ministers on Thursday backed plans for greater powers to combat money laundering after a series of revelations about large amounts of dirty money flowing through European banks.
In a joint statement, ministers called on the European Commission to explore the possibility of transferring supervisory powers to an EU body and to amend rules to strengthen coordination among national authorities.
Smaller states, such as Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus and the Baltic countries, have been accused of lax controls which have allowed repeated cases of money laundering.
[Reuters]
