Belgian banks are now studying better ways to exchange information on suspicious financial transactions, under a pilot project launched by the banking sector federation, Febelfin, De Tijd reported on Friday.
As part of the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism, banks are bound by law to monitor their clients and transactions as closely as possible and identify suspicious clients as well as the origin of their property.
To facilitate this process, Belgian banks have been working on establishing a system that collects and manages the information it needs.
"The pilot project is under way since early this year,” said Febelfin President Karel Van Eetvelt. “The project, for which we are working with the Belgian payments specialist, Isabel, currently focuses on large enterprises. We are developing the technological framework in which banks can work. There is not yet any real exchange of data.
Febelfin hopes to follow up with a similar initiative for exchanging data on given clients. “It’s even more complex,” said Mr. Van Eetvelt, “not only in terms of technology but also because the strict confidentiality rules must continue to be respected when exchanging data.
The Brussels Times
