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What do
banks do to
fight fraud?
The financial institutions have an im-
portant signal function in the fight
against suspicious transactions, tax
evasion and money-laundering prac-
tices. The institutions in bordering
countries do not fulfil this function. It
also wishes to emphasise the difference
between financial fraud, which by defi-
nition is illegal, and tax optimisation,
a service to its customers that remains
within the limits of the law.
In the fight against internet fraud,
the financial sector tries to encourage
public opinion to be on its guard when
spreading personal and financial data.
Reporting suspicious
transactions
The financial institutions have an important
signal function in the fight against fraud and
money-laundering practices. They are obliged
to report suspicious transactions and persons
to the Cell for Financial Information Process-
ing (CFI), an independent administrative au-
thority with legal and financial experts and
a high officer of the federal police who must
prevent and fight money-laundering.
In 2011, the financial institutions sent 3,831
reports, representing 19.2% of the total num-
ber of received reports. The exchange bureaus
reported the largest number of suspicious
transactions: 12,364 or 61.8%.
It is also mandatory for the financial institu-
tions to keep banking data and to set up in-
ternal procedures to facilitate the detection of
suspicious transactions.
In the coming years, the Belgian money-
laundering legislation will be examined by
various international institutions. In the next
two years, the Financial Action Group (FAG)
will evaluate how Belgium has implemented
its recommendations to counter money-laun-
dering. Next the European Union will come
with a new anti-money laundering Directive
(
the fourth already) to stop the phenomenon.
The new Directive will mainly focus on the
vigilance of financial institutions towards
their customers, the investigation into the
real beneficiaries and the mutual business
relationships.
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GOOD GOVERNANCE