THE CHANGES OF THE HUNGARIAN MONEY-LAUNDERING LEGISLATION IN THE LIGHT OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND EU TENDENCIES

Abstract

In this article, the authors argue that the Hungarian money laundering legislation, in its current form, is a result of intensive international and EU legislation and was highly influenced by soft law. This extensively legislated crime was introduced into the Hungarian Criminal Code in 1994 and has undergone numerous amendments since then, primarily to comply with the requirements of international and EU law. For a long time, Hungary has not included money laundering as an independent crime in the Hungarian Criminal Code. Meanwhile, money laundering is considered a serious transnational criminal act, a form of organised crime that found its way to international instruments and the “European criminal law.” However, the implementation of EU law in this manner has affected the Hungarian criminal legislation in force and introduced new legal instruments that were unknown in Hungarian law. These changes resulted in proportionality and applicability issues in criminal law. The central research aspects concern the effects of soft law programmes of advisory and expert bodies of intergovernmental organisations, with particular regard to the FATF recommendations, the legislation of the European Union and the international instruments enshrined in Hungarian criminal law. The focus of this paper is broad, including international, EU and national legislation, highlighting the countereffects of such legislative regimes. Also, the authors aim to form a strong opinion on the current money laundering legislation as a conclusion of the article. The study highlights the interrelationships between different levels of legislation in a specific regulatory issue of criminal law, pointing out the difficulties in the application of the law arising from the interlocking regulation.