The PPATK - Expanded Powers under the New Bill

The Center for Reporting and Analysis of Financial Transactions (PPATK) will cease to be considered a paper tiger without teeth if the Bill on Money Laundering is passed in its current form. The expanded powers include the authority to freeze suspect accounts and transactions, a right to conduct investigations, and a right to tap communications. This is a significant, perhaps even an exponential increase in powers compared to what the PPATK enjoys now.

Any serious effort to reduce and prevent the crime of money laundering needs the institution tasked with tackling the problem to have sufficient powers to succeed in the fight. If this Bill is to pass in its current form there would be no reason for the PPATK to not succeed in the fight against money laundering. Nevertheless, providing the PPATK with investigation and examination powers undermines the role of both the police and the Office of the Public Prosecutor.