Recital 143

(143) Notaries, lawyers, other independent legal professionals, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors should not be obliged to transmit to the FIU or to a self-regulatory body any information received from, or obtained in relation to, one of their clients in the course of ascertaining the legal position of that client, or in performing the task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings, whether such information is received or obtained before, during or after such proceedings. However, such an exception should not apply where the legal professional, auditor, external accountant or tax advisor is taking part in money laundering or terrorist financing, the legal advice is provided for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, or where the legal professional, auditor, external accountant or tax advisor knows that the client is seeking legal advice for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. Such knowledge and purpose can be inferred from objective, factual circumstances. Legal advice sought in relation to ongoing judicial proceedings should not be deemed to constitute legal advice for the purposes of money laundering of terrorist financing. In line with the risk-based approach, Member States should be able to identify additional situations where, having regard to the high risk of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing associated with certain types of transactions, the exemption from the reporting requirement does not apply. When identifying such additional situations, Member States are to ensure compliance in particular with Articles 7 and 47 of the Charter.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-09-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.