Spain: People changing foreign currency and sending money abroad must now identify themselves

The regulation demands that source of money being exchanged or sent in excess of 3,000 euros must be declared.

The anti-money laundering measure came into effect this week

It is now slightly more complicated to change euros into foreign currencies and send money out of Spain. From last Monday, foreign exchange offices have been required to check the identity of clients changing money into foreign currencies and sending money abroad. This new regulation, aimed at the prevention of money-laundering, also obliges foreign exchange offices to keep copies of clients’ identity documents and to obtain additional information on the source of the money being exchanged or sent if the amount exceeds 3,000 euros inside a period of three months.

Experts in the fight against money-laundering have consistently warned that financial transactions involving foreign currency exchange and travellers’ cheques are “sensitive sectors,” as they put it.

The Spanish Economy Ministry tells us that foreign exchange transactions and the sending of money abroad has been on the rise over recent years, due in large part to the increased number of immigrants earning money in Spain to help support families in their countries of origin. According to the latest figures provided by the Bank of Spain, immigrants sent a total of 5,002 million euros out of the country during the first ten months of 2006, which was 34.71 per cent more than in the same period in 2005.

Source of income

The Spanish authorities are well aware of the importance of this money sent abroad by immigrants in the local economies of their countries of origin. Besides keeping copies of the relevant foreign exchange documents, the new regulation also requires that, when a client exchanges or sends a certain amount of money abroad, exchange office personnel must establish internal checks and send on to their superiors information on suspicious transactions that might be money laundering.

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