INTRODUCTION

The Third Money Laundering Directive introduces not only a risk-based approach to the fight against dirty money but also includes the financing of terrorism within its scope. The legal basis for such inclusion is Article 95 TEC (now Article 114 TFEU) and Article 47(2) TEC (now Article 53 TFEU) and the establishment and functioning of the internal market. This contribution aims to explore the implications of EC risk assessment in the area of the EU's anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulation. In doing so, this chapter examines whether there are different notions of ‘risk’ at stake, i.e. within the traditional context of EU risk regulation and the sphere of money laundering/terrorism financing respectively. Moreover, the chapter addresses the cross-pillar overlap as well as the implications of the Lisbon Treaty in the present area.

This chapter is structured as follows. Firstly, a brief introduction is given of the EU's fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, and thereby in particular the Third Money Laundering Directive. Secondly, the notion of risk assessment in EC legislation is introduced in order to clarify the meaning of the catchword ‘risk’ as justification for EU involvement in the present area. Thereafter this chapter aims to discuss the implications of risk regulation in the framework of EU criminal law more specifically. In particular, it asks whether one could envisage an analogy with the EC law doctrine in this area where the focus is on how to link the notion of risk assessment with the general aim of crime prevention at the EU level.