A draft amendment proposed by MP Radu Marian could make it mandatory for clients to show an ID when exchanging cash, regardless of the amount, thus removing the current threshold of 10,000 lei.
Radu Marian, who is also the chair of the Economy Commission, says that this is a common practice in many countries around the world, aiming to support anti-money-laundering and anti-terror financing efforts.
“In Romania, for example, producing an identity document is mandatory for any currency exchange operation, regardless of the amount. Also, a receipt is issued which indicates the amount, the exchange rate and the commission fee, and the signature on the receipt represents the client’s consent to the transaction”, exemplified Marian.
The measure, argued the lawmaker, will make it possible to prevent the use of false or stolen identities in laundering money or funding illegal activities. IDs also allow financial institutions to record and monitor transactions made by customers. These records can be used in investigating suspicious transactions and help identify money laundering or terrorist financing schemes.
