BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany wants to create a new financial crimes watchdog that would bundle together a number of decentralized functions including sanctions enforcement, a German Finance Ministry document said on Tuesday.
There are currently more than 300 regulators across Germany, and the Ministry of Finance wants to reduce this number.
With new powers, the Treasury Department hopes to make it easier to resolve complex international money-laundering cases, which have long been a weak link in the country.
“We need to do better in many areas,” a government representative said of the fight against money laundering.
The FIU units currently receiving suspicious activity reports will work with the new authorities and a coordinating unit will be established to oversee the non-financial sector.
Details about the ministry’s plans will be announced this week.
