Buy gold anonymously now! Because the anonymity limit drops to 10.000,- Euro in 2015.

It is still possible to buy and sell gold, silver and the like anonymously up to a value of €15,000. However, the measures to restrict money laundering and terrorist financing are to be tightened up considerably.

Are you planning to invest larger sums of cash anonymously? Or you want to sell larger amounts of scrap gold and jewelry anonymously? Then you should hurry!

Currently, the anonymity limit for any cash transactions is €15,000, but this is set to change soon:

For example, the new, now fourth, EU directive on money laundering and terrorist financing provides, among other things, for the anonymity limit for cash transactions to be reduced to €10,000. This does not only affect banks, but of course also the trade with precious metals.

In February 2013, the European Commission presented a package of measures: the tightening of regulations is intended to make money laundering and terrorist financing more difficult and to increase transparency in the transfer of funds. This also affects commercial trade in high-value goods (e.g. precious metals, jewelry, watches, works of art, ...). In March 2014, the European Parliament adopted the new draft directive. National implementation is expected to take place within two years.

It is only a matter of time until the Austrian legislator implements the new EU requirements. We expect implementation to take place by mid-2015.

Those who want to own gold anonymously should buy in time before mid-2015

In Austria, you currently only have to identify yourself if the amount of a transaction (one-time or also in several tranches) exceeds the value of € 14,999. As soon as the new EU directive has been implemented into national law, the legal obligation to keep records will already exist from a contract amount of
€ 10.000,-. This means that traders like Gold&Co. will then be obliged to record the data of their customers for purchases or sales above this threshold.

This data must be kept for seven years and handed over upon official request. This can also be seen as another step toward a cashless future. Everyone can easily imagine the associated consequences in terms of privacy. But even with the limit of € 10,000, Mr. and Mrs. Austrian can still consider themselves lucky - as a look at other EU member states proves:

For example, Italy lowered the limit of cash transactions to € 900,- (!), France to € 3.000,- and in 2014 it will be only € 1.000,-. Greece does not allow cash transactions over € 1,500, Spain is at € 2,500 and other countries are beginning to criminalize the € 500 bill - for example, the UK does not allow the exchange of € 500 bills for British pounds.

Thus, a trend is becoming apparent - those that are better off are trying to seal themselves off, and especially those countries that have had to slip under the wing of the euro bailout umbrella are trying to make the money flows of their citizens as transparent as possible.

The trend is clearly going in one direction: virtual money instead of cash

The Russian poet Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky already understood this to mean:

"... Cash is printed freedom..."

This could now be expanded - "He who has gold is financially free..."

You want to provide for the future with lasting values? The experts at Gold&Co. will be happy to advise you!If you have any further questions on the subject of "lowering the transaction limit subject to disclosure", my team and I will be happy to advise you. Come by our office in 1090 or 1220 Vienna, an appointment is not necessary.

Sources:

http://eur-lex.EURpa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52013PC0045

https://www.bmf.gv.at/finanzmarkt/geldwaesche-terrorismusfinanzierung/geldwaesche.html

http://www.pwc.at/newsletter/financial-services/2013/77-vierte-geldwaescherichtlinie.pdf