"In The Name Of God, Go!"

The outgoing European Parliament is remaining true to its warped principles, and is going out on a high, waving through a suicidal prescription for enhancement of the AMLD. Ah, you didn't know? That stands for the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and to give you an idea of how it works, last week a friend of mine in Italy received a letter from a local bank (mischievously backdated by two months) demanding immediate compliance with the Directive, on pain of account closure. Passport, utility bill, the usual stuff. He wasn't going to be in Italy for a month, but they wouldn't accept this. So the account will be closed, but by him, not by them! Instead, he will use another, non-EU bank account where they still have human beings rather than bureaucratic automatons in the pay of Strasbourg. Read More »