ZAGREB, 20 April 2022 - State Secretary at the Finance Ministry Stjepan Čuraj said on Wednesday that citizens didn't have to be afraid of the bill which would enable DORH, customs and tax administrations and the police to have access to a registry that contains records of accounts held by business entities and citizens.

"Citizens don't have to be afraid of access to their accounts," Čuraj (HNS) told the press in the parliament, adding that the court decided on that as before.

This is, he said, about ensuring the implementation of the European directive, with complete application of personal data protection.

"It actually facilitates something all bodies in the procedure have already been entitled to," he said.

"We are not talking about any data on the account balance or transactions, but only information about the actual account holders or bank safes and authorised persons, all with the aim to facilitate investigations, possible prosecution and to prevent criminal offences," he pointed out.

The State Attorney General's Office (DORH) and the police will have access to that data, he said, but also the customs and tax administrations with the authorisation and at the request of DORH, when it comes to obtaining financial data.

He noted that the customs and tax administrations had performed financial analyses and investigations before, within their powers and on the orders of competent bodies, which they would continue to do.

The Finance Ministry has put to public consultation a bill that facilitates the use of financial information to prevent and detect criminal offences, and in addition to the Anti-Money Laundering Office, it would enable the State Attorney General's Office (DORH), customs and tax administrations and the police to have access to the registry.

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