Better protection for those reporting unusual transactions

Those who report unusual transactions will receive better protection. Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives that safeguarding the safety of those reporting unusual transactions will receive even greater attention. However, anonymous reporting of unusual transactions will remain impossible.

If there is an intention to add an unusual transaction reported by a small business to the criminal file as evidence, the investigative services will take further action. Within the legal framework, they will contact the reporting party to determine whether there are any (foreseen) threats if the transaction declared suspicious by the FIU-Netherlands is added as evidence to the criminal file. A small business is a business whose business or office name can be directly traced back to a natural person at that business.

Anonymize

In the letter, Grapperhaus emphasizes that anyone reporting an unusual transaction can always contact the police themselves in the event of (foreseen) threats. Such reports are taken very seriously, and the government can take (additional) measures as part of the monitoring and security system. Furthermore, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) can explore the possibility of utilizing existing legal frameworks. These can be applied in exceptional cases to protect the reporter. This includes the ability to anonymize the data of the reporting entity in the criminal file. The FIU-Netherlands and the OM will communicate this enhanced procedure to Wwft institutions within the OM and the investigative services, respectively.

Motion

The reason for this tightened procedure is amotion adopted by the House of Representatives by Member of Parliament Michiel van Nispen (SP). This motion requests the government, in consultation with notaries and tax advisors, to explore how the security of those reporting unusual transactions can be better guaranteed, for example, by anonymizing the person reporting the transaction in their criminal record.

Report anonymously

In response to parliamentary questions, the Minister previously indicated that anonymous reporting of unusual transactions is not possible. The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries (KNB) has advocated for civil-law notaries to be able to report through their professional organization. Grapperhaus has written to the House of Representatives stating that the Public Prosecution Service can only proceed with a transaction declared suspicious if it can be verified. Furthermore, the Public Prosecution Service must be able to request additional and clarifying information from the reporting entity. Without the reporting entity's business or office name being included in the criminal file, the defense and the court cannot assess the specific information on the basis of which an investigation was initiated.