Lower Chamber Passes Money Laundering Prevention Bill Amid Vote Controversy

The bill passed with 170 votes for, 70 against and one abstention on its second try, after the Social Democrat Party (PSD) group leader, Daniel Suciu requested a repeat of the vote, stating that the options of two present MPs were not registered by the electronic voting system.

The vote initially failed with 163 votes for, prompting opposing MPs to vehemently protest the decision to repeat it.

The initative integrates an EU directive on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, but was the source of controversy due to provisions which would have NGOs report all individuals who benefit from their activity.

According to the bill, NGOs must register all individuals they assist, a provision which Hungarian minority party UDMR criticized as being unfeasible, as it could lead to the need of registering millions of individuals. An exemption to this provision was made for associations of minority citizens which are members of the National Minority Council.

It also sets the National Office for Preventing and Fighting Money Laundering (ONPCSB) as the national agency which coordinates the risk assessment for money laundering and terrorism financing.

Another provision states that any entities which perform transactions upwards of EUR10,000 must report to the agency any reasonably suspicious activity related to said transactions.

The bill will be sent to President Klaus Iohannis for enactment.

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