Money laundering involves the process to which funds which have been acquired through illegal means, such as drug trafficking or corruption, are subjected in order to conceal their illicit origin. Because of the large sums of money involved, money laundering often involves transactions in the financial system, although this is not always the case.
As the central bank of the euro area, Banking Union is of key concern to the ECB. It is essential to increase confidence in the euro area banking sector, to reintegrate financial markets, and to improve the transmission of our monetary policy. It is therefore among the most important issues for the euro area today.