By Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states are preparing to counter money-laundering by giving bank supervisors clearer powers and reviewing recent high-profile cases, a draft plan seen by Reuters showed.
The plan is a response to alleged money-laundering scandals involving banks in Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Spain, the Netherlands, Britain and Cyprus, with schemes often executed through foreign branches inside the EU.
The paper, dated Oct. 29, which is subject to changes until its adoption in early December, mandates the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission to conduct a review of alleged money-laundering cases by mid-2019 with the view of "possible additional actions" to strengthen the EU legal framework.
The document outlining the plan lists a number of short-term measures to be taken by the end of next year to improve the EU's ability to prevent and counter financial crime.
EU supervisors would have clearer powers to assess whether bank managers are fit for their job and to withdraw banking licences for serious breaches of anti money-laundering rules.
The plan invites the European Commission to propose by September 2019 other long-term measures to strengthen EU rules, but does not explicitly mention forming a common agency to supervise financial crime, as demanded by the ECB.