BRUSSELS: European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to set up an EU body that would fight money laundering across the 27-nation bloc, supporting a European Commission proposal from May.

The council of finance ministers also gave their backing for the Commission to harmonise EU anti-money laundering rules and provide coordination and support for national Financial Intelligence Units of EU countries. The Commission is to present legal proposals to turn that agreement into reality in the first quarter of next year.

“The Council supports setting up an EU-level supervisor with direct supervisory powers over a selected number of high-risk obliged entities, as well as the authority to take over supervision from a national supervisor in clearly defined and exceptional situations,” the ministers said in a statement.—Reuters