Bankers complain proposed bill to combat money laundering too intrusive

A draft of the bill to allow the supervision of bank accounts and transactions exceeding euro 10,000 has made its way to Sejm. The law, aimed at preventing money laundering, has been severely criticized by bankers, who believe it breaches bank privacy but the regulation is required by European Union (EU) directives. Banks will be required to register all cash payments over euro 10,000 and identify both the recipient and the sender. Documents will then to be stored for five years. The general financial information inspector who will oversee the institutions' archives will be under the jurisdiction of the Finance Minister and can intervene whenever suspicion is aroused. Polish Banking Association (ZBP) general director Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz has called for all audits to be conducted only under court scrutiny. (Puls Biznesu, page 7) P.S.