A new EU authority is to be set up to crack down on “dirty money” in light of new sanctions on the Kinahan drug cartel, European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said.
It comes days after the US government imposed sanctions on the three most senior members of the Kinahan organised crime group and offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to their arrest or financial disruption of the gang.
Ms McGuiness, EU Commissioner for financial services said the development has been “hugely welcome” amid calls to sanction the UAE if the Arab state does not extradite the Kinahans who reside there.
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Ms McGuinness said: “That development is hugely welcome and it fits in with our work on anti-money laundering.
“So we have a proposal with the European Parliament and Council to go much further than we’ve done to date.
“We’re going to establish an authority at EU level to address issues of money laundering because it is happening and we need to tackle it not just for the money part which is horrific that we have dirty money in the system but the attack on communities, on people, on families that is represented by the Kinahan gang and what they get up to.”
Ms McGuinness said there is a “political push” from the European Parliament to go further.
Speaking to reporters at the Global Ireland Summit, she added: “So we may well see this authority has more responsibility around sanctions because dirty money doesn’t respect borders.
“So a European and indeed a global response is necessary.”
She added that the European Commission is not discussing sanctions against the UAE.
She said: “I presume those who are involved in law enforcement will look at that and see where there is circumvention.”
Ms McGuinness added that there is a need to “root out the worst effects of crime” and the impact it has on families.
She said: “When you think of those horrors and the dirty money behind it, there should be no hiding place.”
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