Money laundering: Klingbeil plans new law, EU cash payment cap of 10,000 euros
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil wants to replace Germany's anti-money laundering law, giving BaFin and the FIU more powers and easier access to bank and property data. It is due to take effect July 10, 2027.
Archive image · Photo: Kaffeeringe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is pushing ahead with an overhaul of the fight against money laundering. Under a draft bill seen by the German Press Agency, the current Money Laundering Act would be replaced by a new core statute to implement EU requirements.
Financial regulator BaFin and the customs service's Financial Intelligence Unit would get broader tasks and powers, including easier access to bank account and real estate data. From July 10, 2029, a central access point is to give law enforcement in particular fast access to property information.
The EU anti-money laundering regulation, directly applicable from July 10, 2027, introduces an EU-wide cap of 10,000 euros on cash payments in business transactions; deals between private individuals are exempt. The Federal Criminal Police Office puts money laundering damage in 2025 at 1.5 billion euros, though the real sum is likely considerably higher.