AML/CTF legislation country profile

ECBA Questionnaire filled in for Austria

a)  Legislation

1. Definition of money laundering in the local legal system.

Art. 165, §§ 1 – 2 Penal Code

Money laundering is hiding or concealing assets

• which originate from a certain catalogue of crimes, mainly giving false information in legal action concerning the origin and the nature of the assets, the property and other rights of them and similar circumstances

or

• keeping, storing or administrating such assets if the perpetrator not only intends but still knows the real origin of the assets.

2. Sanctions for money laundering offence.

Art. 165 Penal Code:

• Imprisonment up to two years or fine up 360 equivalents (each equivalent between € 2 – € 500)

• If the value is over € 50.000 the sanction is: imprisonment of 6 month up to 5 years

• Confiscation of the contaminated assets may be an additional sentence (art. 20 Penal Code).

3. (Legal) professions especially affected by local AML/CTF legislation.

• Credit and financial institutions

• Share traders

• Insurance companies

• Stock markets

• Lawyers

• Notary

• Casino enterprises

• Real estate agents

4. Specific regulations imposed upon attorneys at law.

Art. 8a Regulation for Attorneys at law:

An attorney has the duty under certain circumstances (i.e. suspicion of money laundering or the obligation or amounts over € 15.000) to prove the identity of the client; if he refuses to disclose his identity the attorney must inform the police authority

If there is reasonable suspicion that the planning or execution of a certain transaction for the client is connected to money laundering, the attorney has the obligation to report to the police authority. There is no duty to report if the attorney is rendering legal opinions or representing or defending his client in court.

b)    Bar Association

1. Directives – formulated by the Bar Association – guiding the interpretation of the legislation and the force of these directives (binding, guideline,…).

No

2. Causes for discussion at the implementation stage of the European Directive in local legislation especially in relation to a possible conflict between this legislation and your professional code of ethics?

The outcome of the discussion was the implementation of art. 8a Regulations for Attorney at law (see above under 4.)

3. Any action taken by the local Bar Association against the way in which the European directive was implemented in local legislation?

No specific actions were taken. Only a few press notices with critical evaluations were published. But compare above under 4.: art. 8a Regulation for Attorneys at law.

4. Other bodies that have undertaken any form of action to safeguard the rights of their members in this respect.

No.

c)  Legal practice

1. Particularities that foreign attorneys at law in contact with the local legal system should be aware of / recommendations to be taken into consideration?

Do not hesitate to contact an Austrian attorney at law because of the complexity of the regulations and the culture of the legal practice in Austria.

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The ECBA maintains this website to provide and disseminate information on criminal procedure in the EU with regard to national money laundering legislation as it applies to attorneys at law. The content of the website relies on contacts in each jurisdiction and although our aim is to keep this information accurate, the ECBA does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the content. This information does not constitute legal advice. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 January 2011 )