The Ministry of Finance (MF) is working on a system that will allow the storage of information on products for the collection, storage or investment of funds and will provide access to, inter alia, law enforcement. Work is linked to the need to implement EU directives in this area. According to EU law, access to such data by competent authorities is crucial for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for combating serious crime.
Poland is required to implement into the national legal order of EU rules which enable competent authorities to identify the person or entity holding or controlling payment accounts, bank accounts and deposit boxes. This is served by the draft Financial Information System Act prepared at the Ministry of Finance
- explains Deputy Minister of Finance, General Inspector of Financial Information Piotr Dziedzic.
The proposed system will not collect information on financial transactions or the amount of cash raised. It is intended to allow only a smooth location of an account or other product for the collection, storage or investment of funds
- adds the Heir and stresses that the powers of public authorities and the scope of business secrets, including banking, will not change significantly.
Community law
Member States are required to transfer to national legal systems two Directives of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union:
Directive 2018/843 to 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing ... and
Directive 2019/1153 to 20 June 2019 laying down rules to facilitate the use of financial and other information to prevent, detect, investigate or prosecute certain offences (...).
According to first a document, each Member State shall be required to establish a centralised register or data search system that enables the rapid identification of any natural or legal person with or controlling payment accounts, bank accounts and deposit boxes.
On the other hand, Directive 2019/1153 inter alia, it obliges Member States to designate national authorities competent in matters of crime prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution. They should have access to information stored in such a centralised registry/data search system.
According to the European Commission report to the European Parliament and the Council of 24 July 2019 26 Member States have declared that they already have or will have a centralised register/data search system. At the date of the report, such register/system already functioned in 15 countries including Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Croatia, Austria, Romania and Slovenia.
Polish bill
The result of the work of the MF to transfer the principles of EU law to the Polish legal system is . The proposed law sets out, inter alia, the institutions required to provide information to the system, the extent of the information transmitted, the entities authorised to collect data collected in the system and the rules on the protection of the information processed.
The aim of the Act is to implement the requirements set out in EU directives. The entry into force of the Act will not substantially alter the current provisions on the powers of public authorities or the scope of professional secrets, including banking secrecy.
The Financial Information System is intended to allow, in certain statutory cases, to locate an account or other product (for the collection, storage or investment of funds) belonging to a person or entity, without being able to obtain information on the assets or transactions on it. The proposed law will also eliminate time-consuming and costly actions by state authorities, including correspondence with financial market institutions.