Luxembourg’s parliament on Saturday voted in favour of new laws aimed at stepping up the fight against money laundering and tax evasion.
Among others, a passed law included implementation of the European Commission’s so-called DAC-6 directive with some restrictions. The directive obliges lawyers, accountants, auditors, bankers and financial intermediaries to inform state agencies about aggressive cross-border tax arrangements with clients. However, Luxembourg made an exception for local lawyers, auditors and accountants. New rules will come into effect from July this year.
Parliament also passed two laws to implement the EU’s fifth anti-money laundering directive. This includes a register of bank accounts and safe deposit boxes in the country. This register features the account and deposit box number as well as the account holder, whether a private person or the beneficial owners of a company. The financial services regulator will be given access to the information that can be requested through the CSSF.