The war on cash continues, this time under the guise of combating money laundering....
A directive that will severely limit cash payments has been approved by the European Parliament.
The ban is supposedly in the name of fighting crime, but critics say it will hurt ordinary citizens, especially the most vulnerable.
InfoWars reports: Under the directive, ostensibly aimed at curbing money laundering and the funding of terrorism, anonymous cash payments over €3,000 will be banned in commercial transactions. In business transactions, cash payments over €10,000 will be completely banned. Anonymous payments in cryptocurrencies will also be completely banned.
“Under the guise of combating money laundering, you are actually waging a war against cash which has protected our financial privacy since time immemorial,” said German Pirate Party MEP Partick Breyer—one of the few opponents of the measure—during the plenary session.
“You want to force our finances into traceable and increasingly shaky banking systems that can block our cards and accounts at any time and introduce negative interest rates. We will live to regret it. I tell you: Anyone who tampers with cash is tampering with our financial freedom. And to us Pirates there is no doubt that the finances of honest citizens is none of your business! Hands off our cash, our digital currencies! We say no to this to this creeping financial disenfranchisement.”
The regulation has been debated since 2016, going through the usual long process of EU lawmaking. Parliament gave its final approval on April 25. It still needs to be approved by the European Council before becoming law.
According to its opponents, the rule is highly unpopular and will be ineffective in achieving its goal of preventing crime.
Breyer points out that cryptocurrency is already traceable when necessary as it operates through a blockchain peer-to-peer computer network. He adds that law enforcement has already effectively traced and caught criminals committing financial crimes or laundering money from illegal activities through cryptocurrencies. He also notes that during the public consultation period on the directive, it proved highly unpopular among citizens in EU member states, with 90% of respondents weighing in against the measure, citing the use of cash as an essential personal freedom.
Experts have also warned that it will do little to prevent crime while harming ordinary citizens, particularly the most vulnerable.
