Banks’ correspondence to Economic Enforcement Crime Unit’s (SDOE) requests
The Head of Planning and Audit Coordination of SDOE, recently declared that credit institutions have corresponded in only 130 of the 3.829 SDOE’s requests that have been submitted from the 1st of January 2010 until the 31st of July 2011. In this context, the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA) highlights that according to data from its member-banks, during the above mentioned period:
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in each member-bank 1.500-2.200 requests have been submitted for investigation from SDOE; each one of them is related to 1 up to 160 natural persons or legal entities,
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from the aforementioned requests a highly percentage of more than 80%, have been already answered, although from early 2011 there was an important increase of requests for lifting the banking secrecy
More specifically:
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an increase of 550%, time period the first 7month period of 2011 is observed in relation to the respective during 2010, while
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the requests from SDOE consist hereafter approximately the 60% of the total amount for lifting banking secrecy requests, whereas the respective amount for the year 2010 did not exceed the 17%.
Furthermore, it should be noted the significant increase of the requests for blocking bank accounts on behalf of the above mentioned entity; these requests for the 7month period of 2011 are increased approximately 400% in relation to those which have been received throughout the year 2010.
It is obvious that, the efficiency of credit institutions with respect to the timely response on SDOE’s requests and any other Authority’s request and their capacity for beginning the relevant investigation, is closely connected to the quality and the completeness of the submitted request, as well as to the complexity of the issues raised each time.
Following the above, the HBA submitted towards the leadership (Special Secretary) of SDOE specific proposals concerning the standardization, the modernization and the simplification of the procedure, so that credit institution’s response time will be even more shortened.
Finally, it should be mentioned that credit institutions, in the purpose of effective correspondence in SDOE’s requests, dispose significant human and financial recourses.
