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13.02.2020 14 BUSINESS CYPRUS needs to step up its fight against the laundering of illicit cash generated outside the east Mediterra- nean island nation, a leading European financial watchdog said. Moneyval, which is part of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading hu- man rights organisation, said in a report that Cypriot law enforcement should be more aggressive in going after launder- ing of revenues that criminals rake in abroad. Cyprus has become a focal point in the fight against money laundering because it is an international financial centre within which many foreign clients op- erate. Moneyval said ill-gotten money from abroad flowing in or through Cypriot banks is the main money laundering and terror financing risk that Cyprus faces. ough Cyprus has a "reasonable re- cord" on chasing laundering from do- mestic criminal activity, Moneyval said in a statement that local authorities should do more to go after those pro- ceeds generated outside of the country. ough the threat of terrorism in con- sidered to be low in Cyprus, authorities say the terror financing risk is elevated because of its proximity to conflict ar- eas. Moneyval credited the Cypriot bank- ing sector for having a firm grasp of the risks and has taken solid steps to coun- ter them, including strong supervision from the Central Bank of Cyprus. In the wake of a 2013 financial crisis that brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy, Cypriot banks have enact- ed a raft of measures such as stringent client vetting to shed a lingering reputa- tion for money laundering. Moneyval said more work is needed to get lawyers and accountants to provide information on who the real owners of companies in the country are, as well as reporting suspicious money transac- tions. According to Moneyval, Cypriot au- thorities "have been instrumental" in helping other countries with freezing and confiscating foreign illicit money, but they need to show more initiative in doing so on their own. e body also said the money laun- dering risk in the real estate sector has "increased exponentially" under the Cyprus Investment Programme which enables third county nationals who buy property in the country to gain Cypriot, and by extension European Union, citi- zenship. General view of the Buyuk Han (the Great Inn) in Northern Nicosia, Cyprus (Andrew Matthews/PA) Moneyval said its findings were based on a May 2019 visit to Cyprus and did not take into into account tougher vet- ting procedures enacted later in the same year. Cyprus moved in November last year to strip 26 foreign investors of citizen- ship amid questions over whether they should have been issued a Cypriot pass- port. Legal complications are currently holding up the revocations. Nearly 4,000 Cypriot passports were issued to investors under the pro- gramme that generated approximately seven billion euros since its inception in 2013. Cyprus urged to step up battle against money laundering EUROPEAN lawmakers are set to ap- prove free trade and investment deals between the EU and Vietnam that will eliminate almost all tariffs over the next ten years, despite concerns about the human rights situation in the country. After an influential Parliament trade committee recommended last month that the agreements should be adopt- ed, lawmakers will cast their votes Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, dur- ing a plenary session. e EU hopes the deal will result in 15 billion euros ($16.5 billion) a year in additional exports from Vietnam to the continent by 2035, with EU exports to Vietnam expanding by more than eight billion per year. Vietnam mainly exports telecom- munications equipment, food and clothing to Europe, while the EU's list of exports to the Southeast Asian na- tion includes machinery, transport equipment, chemicals and agricultural goods. Geert Bourgeois, the lawmaker in charge of steering the agreements through Parliament, said the deals are also strengthening economic ties with Vietnam amid fierce competition from China and the U.S. "We've been negotiating for eight years and it's important that we come to an agreement now. If not, I'm sure Sino-Vietnamese relations will become more important," he said. A group of 28 NGOs has asked EU lawmakers to postpone their consent to the deals until Vietnam shows it is committed to protecting labour and human rights, but the agreements largely enjoy the support of the Parlia- ment's three main political groups. "We are very concerned about polit- ical prisoners and have stressed to the Vietnamese authorities the importance of human rights," Bourgeois said. "Vi- etnam is responding in a positive man- ner and from this month a European Parliament delegation will monitor the situation. We have also agreed the es- tablishment of an inter-parliamentary delegation between Parliament and Vi- etnam's national assembly." Once adopted by lawmakers, the deals need to be approved by the EU council and ratified by all 27 member states. EU eyes Vietnam trade deals despite human rights concerns

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