The carrying of cash across borders has long been regulated, although modifications have been effected through the years. Last week we read of the case of a man caught carrying large amounts of undeclared cash as he was leaving the island, and who is now being investigated by the authorities concerned.
The case came at a significant period as the European Union tightens the net on the cross-border movements of cash. In the post-11 September period and in view of terrorist attacks on European soil, the European Commission set about examining ways in which to cut off as much as possible any avenues from which terrorist organisations could obtain funds for their own ends. The urgency was of course terrorism, but this did not in any way apply less to other forms of criminality.
The European Union’s single market encourages the free movement of capital. Yet as the then commissioner responsible for taxation and customs, Frits Bolkestein had remarked at the time the prevention of money-laundering is a top priority for the EU. In 2002, the European Commission proposed a regulation that would see cooperation between the various Customs authorities to specifically prevent this criminal act. Discussion was conducted both in the European Parliament and the Council until the final draft of the regulation was adopted in 2005 and published in the Official Journal – a daily publication similar to our Government Gazette.
Although Regulation (EC) 1889/2005 entered into force in November 2005, it was intended to apply from the tomorrow in all member states, giving the latter the time to adapt their procedures accordingly. The relevant Maltese legislation in this case is Legal Notice 149/2007 which comes into force tomorrow and obliges any person entering, leaving or transiting through Malta and carrying a sum equivalent to Lm4,293 or more to declare it to the Comptroller of Customs. The amount should be reasonably high for most travellers not to be unduly hampered.
The amount need not necessarily be in currency but can also be held in other instruments such as cheques, travellers’ cheques, promissory notes and money orders. The declaration is made possible through a specific form, which has also been published together with the Legal Notice. Undeclared amounts in excess of the sum indicated would be seized and any person committing the crime is bound to undergo judicial procedures.
These controls form part of the EU’s extensive drive to counter crime, including terrorism and money-laundering. The third Money Laundering Directive, which took into account comments made by the international Financial Action Task Force was quite an achievement in this regard. This should be brought into force by all member states by December of this year. In recent years, other proposals have been made to close off other possible avenues which the criminal world may use to access the funds it needs.
On certain issues, discussion was stalled as legislative measures had to be designed to cover all sorts of new payment methods.
One should expect more action to follow. This should hopefully attain the desired results as national authorities are further equipped with the necessary legislative framework.
Further details may be obtained by contacting “Forum Malta fl-Ewropa” offices on tel.: 2590-9101 or by email to: [email protected]
Julian Micallef is Consultation Coordinator at “Forum Malta fl-Ewropa”