Europe limits use of anonymous prepaid credit cards in its fight against terror

Europe is limiting the use of anonymous prepaid credit cards. This is one of the most important elements in the revision of the Anti-money laundering Directive that the European Parliament is approving today. MEP Helga Stevens considers this an important step forward in the fight against terror: “Prepaid credit cards are still used too often by criminals and terrorists today because they guarantee anonymity below certain amounts. For example, Salah Abdeslam used an anonymous prepaid credit card to move around Europe during the months preceding the attacks in Paris. Such cards must become traceable, which will of course make their use a lot less attractive. In any case, this will mean terrorists have more trouble slipping through the net.”

Boosting security

National authorities will now also be able to exchange data more easily in order to gain better insight in who exactly is behind suspicious financial transactions. MEP Helga Stevens: “Investigators often lose valuable time when they have to identify the persons behind bank account numbers and companies. These new regulations require all EU Member States to, among other things, set up a mechanism in which bank account numbers are linked automatically to useful identity details. The other Member States can use Belgium as a source of inspiration for this, since it has already had such a mechanism for a while. If all Member States introduce such a mechanism it will boost security in Belgium as well as all over Europe.”

Virtual currencies

Players active in the world of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, are now also subject to anti-money laundering regulations. Helga Stevens: “The European security policy must of course also focus on this rapidly-growing domain. From a global perspective, this badly-needed revision will allow European Member States to trace yet another bunch of suspect cash flows across national borders. That is how we will tackle the financing of terrorism more efficiently together. But our homework is not done yet, by far. As co-rapporteur for the anti-terror commission, I will soon be presenting a number of new recommendations. The safety of our citizens is an absolute priority for me.”