ECONOMY

Draghi urges Cyprus to focus on money-laundering laws

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged the new Cypriot government on Thursday to look at how it is combating money laundering.

Eurozone finance ministers pledged this week to agree a bailout for Cyprus, hit primarily by its exposure to Greek debt, by the end of March, but details of how the rescue will be financed are yet to be sorted out.

One stumbling block has been concern about Cyprus’s implementation of its money-laundering laws. The new government on the island has agreed to an independent review.

Admitting that the issue was not directly in the ECB’s remit, Draghi volunteered that it was a key issue at a news conference.

“It is very important that the Cypriot government takes this opportunity to revisit the anti-money laundering legislation – not so much in terms of the legislation, but in accepting international oversight on how effectively this legislation has been implemented,” he said.

[Reuters]

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