Spain: financial ownership file and money laundering prevention

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the legal configuration of the Spanish financial ownership file and identifies its main legal shortcomings and its necessity and proportionality.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary and secondary sources of information on which this paper is based are statutes and reports issued by Spanish consultative bodies, respectively. Article 43 of Act 10/2010 of 28 April on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing created the “financial ownership file”, a publicly owned personal data file containing information on the opening and cancellation of all types of financial accounts. The recently enacted Royal Decree 304/2014 of 5 May approving the Regulations of Act 10/2010 contains further guidance.

Findings

The objective of the financial ownership file is laudable, but the way it has been configured creates new obligations that it could be argued are unnecessary as there are already mechanisms in place to obtain the information in question. The recently enacted regulations raise concerns to the author about access rights, data protection and monitoring, among other aspects.

Originality/value

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the Spanish financial ownership file, a topic not yet explored in great detail, and could be useful for other legislatures intending to implement similar systems in their countries.

Citation

Gil Soriano, A. (2016), "Spain: financial ownership file and money laundering prevention", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 238-248. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-10-2014-0030