The legislator also has good intentions for the new year in the form of new laws. I will mention three of these relating to criminal law. Namely, the ban on cash payments of €3,000 or more, the criminalisation of having or installing hidden compartments in vehicles, and the expansion of the possibilities for collecting unlawfully obtained gains.
Prohibition of cash payments of €3,000 or more.
In order to make it more difficult to launder money obtained through crime, from 1 January 2026, certain (legal) persons will be prohibited from accepting cash payments of €3,000 or more. This applies in particular to (legal) persons who act professionally or commercially as buyers or sellers of goods or works of art. Private individuals who are not professionally involved in the purchase/sale of these goods are therefore exempt from the cash limit. This new rule stems from the latest European Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive. In France, there is even a cash ban of €1,000. Failure to comply with this new provision in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft) can result in administrative fines with a base amount of €10,000, which can be increased or reduced based on financial capacity, benefit or recidivism. In serious cases of non-compliance, the Wwft Supervisory Authority may report the matter to the public prosecutor, who may bring the case before the court.
Nevertheless, it is striking that banks and the ministry have also called for people to keep more cash at home in case of an emergency this year. This is due to increased geopolitical tensions and cyber threats. This could lead to more debit card payments. However, the government advises that €70 per adult and €30 per child would be sufficient to get through the first three days.
Criminalisation of concealed spaces in means of transport.
Under Article 189a of the Criminal Code, possessing a vehicle with a concealed compartment will be made a criminal offence. The same applies to equipping a vehicle with a concealed compartment. Such a compartment must be suitable for secretly transporting objects. The law is intended to deter the preparation and commission of serious crimes with a subversive effect. In practice, it is expected that there will be discussion as to whether the hidden compartments found are intended to store valuable items safely or to be used for other purposes. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Extension of the possibility of imposing joint and several confiscation measures
If the court imposes a confiscation order on two or more (joint) convicts, under current law convicts cannot be held jointly and severally liable for the payment obligation to confiscate the unlawfully obtained benefit. The idea behind this is that the determination of the unlawfully obtained benefit must always be based on the benefit that the person concerned actually obtained in the specific circumstances. In practice, this often leads to a payment obligation in proportion to the share of the benefit. If one convicted person is unable to pay his or her share, this does not lead to a payment obligation for the co-defendant.
Partly due to case law from the Supreme Court, the legislator felt justified in making an exception to this rule in cases where there is an economic unity between the convicted parties. If the economic unity has benefited collectively, the convicted parties can be held jointly and severally liable, i.e. individually, for repayment of the entire benefit of the economic unity. If a convicted person can demonstrate that he is only partially liable for the joint payment obligation, an exception can be made. In practice, this will be complicated, because such a statement is often incompatible with a request for full acquittal. It is expected that there will be more discussion in court about whether there is an economic unit.
In this way, the legislator is attempting to keep pace with practice. The anticipated discussions in court will undoubtedly lead to new legislation in the long term. Thus, the cat-and-mouse game continues.
Mr. D.M. Penn