Brussels, 21/08/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 August, the Cypriot government approved two bills to tighten the island's system for countering money-laundering.
The first measure concerns the creation of a registry of trust registries, which will be kept by the relevant supervisory authorities, explains Cypriot newspaper Cyprus Mail. The other gets rid of an article in the trust law that exempts international trusts from registering. The bills are part of Cyprus' bailout agreement and would have to be approved by parliament by September 11 - before the release of the second tranche of financial assistance by European finance ministers on 14 and 15 September. When they come into force, the bills will enable European governments tackling tax evasion and money-laundering to obtain information about the owners of trust funds registered in Cyprus.
Before the aid programme for Cyprus was agreed upon, Germany expressed doubts about the Cypriot government's desire to tackle money-laundering. (MB/transl.fl)