Anti-letterbox law big step against money laundering, states NGO

A draft law on the registry of public sector partners, or what is known as the anti-letterbox law, might be a significant step in the fight against money laundering and the 'tunnelling' of public funds, claim the NGOs associated with the Jingle for Change initiative. The Parliament will definitively decide on the law prepared by Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská (Most-Hid) as soon as this week. "The approval of a good anti-letterbox law is extremely important. It is a key law in the field of preventing money laundering, reducing the scope of corruption and detecting those currently 'tunnelling' public funds through various state orders or front companies. The draft law fully conforms to requirements asserted by the Jingle for Change initiative," said its coordinator Juraj Rizman. The group also praised that, in the instance where may be doubts concerning the correctness of a business record, a business entity will have to prove in court that its record is correct. If it fails to do so, it will be erased from the list and face sanctions. The main goal of Žitňanská's law is to increase the transparency of transactions between state and private firms. "Through the anti-letterbox law, we are unveiling who the state trades with. Those who want to lie will expose themselves to sanctions, up to erasure from the registry and a ban from applying for public funds," said Žitňanská.