The Bank of Portugal’s latest set of regulations aimed to combat both money laundering and financing of terrorism will become law from Sunday. Banks will now be obliged to take the identification of anyone making a cash deposit of more than 10,000 euros and report to the Bank of Portugal. Banks must also be on alert for smaller subsequent cash deposits that come to 10,000 euros or more. They must also report deposits of 5,000 euros or more made in cash into an account not held by the depositor in cases where internal systems indicate a high risk of money laundering.
Bank transfers will also be under scrutiny, whether made in person at the bank, online or via Multibanco machines for amounts in excess of 15,000 euros. Concerns have already been raised by The Portuguese Banking Association (APB) that banks are not yet ready to implement the system.
