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On Thursday, 98 members of the Seimas voted in favor of such modifications to the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, 10 against and 19 abstentions.
Before the vote, MPs debated the benefits and harms of adopting such amendments.
Mykolas Majauskas, head of the Seimas Budget and Finance Committee, assured that the permit will facilitate “the possibility for each of us to open a bank account.”
Vytautas Mitalas, a member of Freedom Faction, explained that the amendments open up many new opportunities for Lithuania to be more competitive, attractive and perform better in the financial technology field.
At the time, Kęstutis Glaveckas, who belongs to the Joint Group of Seimas Members, doubted that the amendments would encourage investment, but according to him, scammers would use it.
“If a driver’s license were a source of investment, we would already be swimming in money. The driver’s license is not a document that represents a passport or identity card,” said the parliamentarian.
According to him, drivers licenses are needed to get quick credits and all modern online scammers.
“There is nothing to do with haitek, here there are only thieves who will want to take advantage of it. “It is very easy to make those rights, duplicate them, put another photo, come, take a short loan or borrow, or build another, there are many options to deceive people,” he explained.
The “peasant” Valius žuolas believes that the amendments will encourage money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to him, the special services have recognized that they will not be able to physically secure such money laundering or terrorist financing flows.
“If we want to open that Pandora’s box and be the country that best launders money and finances terrorists, that is a great law. Only then must we remember that we will have to take responsibility for this or ensure the capacity of the services to supervise everything. ”Said V. Ąžuolas.
Vytautas Bakas, a member of the joint group of Seimas members, proposed that the 2021 budget provide additional funds for the Bank of Lithuania and the Financial Crime Investigation Service, so that these institutions hire more staff and purchase equipment to oversee implementation. of repairs.
The driving license of a third country national must comply with a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 2006.
If a person’s nationality is not indicated on the driving license, financial institutions and other companies will have to require proof of nationality not only when it is physically established, but also
remote form.
The amendments were debated in the Seimas for several years. They were initially associated with Brexit, and after its postponement, the Seimas was in no rush to adopt the amendments. Its initiators were outraged that this did not create the conditions for fintech companies to invest and start operations in Lithuania, which were looking for new locations in the EU due to Brexit, and later, due to the situation in Belarus.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Service initially opposed the adoption of the amendments, explaining that it would have neither specialists nor software to monitor and analyze the situation.
The driving license is considered valid for the identification and opening of a bank account in Great Britain, Estonia, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Malta.
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