Legal

Catherine Sanz: How credible is Ireland’s bid for the EU’s anti-money laundering agency?

There are serious questions about our reputation when it comes to financial crime at a time when trillions of euros is passing through institutions

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Michael McGrath with the Irish delegation at the European Parliments EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority pitch

Ireland does not have a stellar record when it comes to dirty money.

In 2020, a leaked FBI bulletin described how private equity and hedge funds had been used “in support of fraud, transnational organised crime, and sanctions evasion”.

Funds with accounts at financial institutions in Ireland were highlighted by the agency along with those in the Cayman Islands, which is hardly a beacon of financial transparency.

But there was Ireland listed along its Caribbean ...