European Council Adopts Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive

On 14 May 2018, the European General Affairs Council adopted, without discussion, the fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive 2015/849), which had been approved by the EU Parliament in April. As provided in a Council release, the main changes to Directive 2015/849 involve:

• broadening access to information on beneficial ownership, improving transparency in the ownership of companies and trusts;
• addressing risks linked to prepaid cards and virtual currencies;
• cooperation between f…