In July 2018, the new Act of 1 March 2018 on Counteracting Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism will come into force. It will be of particular importance to financial institutions, banks and other entities that are involved in transactions for goods in cash with a value exceeding EUR 10,000.

Under the new act,  entities will be obliged to adopt whistleblowing policies setting out the rules for the anonymous reporting of any potential irregularities by employees and other individuals cooperating with the entity.

According to the new act, the policy must include in particular information about the individual responsible for receiving notifications from whistle-blowers and the measures aimed at protecting them from any form of discrimination.

Any entity that does not establish internal whistleblowing policies may be subject to various administrative penalties, including fines of up to EUR 1 million. Therefore, entities subject to the provisions of the new act should ensure that they have adopted the required policy and that it complies with the all requirements introduced by the act.