Estonia's Ministry of Finance reports adoption of clearer rules for bank data requests by tax and financial intelligence authorities

Estonia's Ministry of Finance reported that parliament adopted amendments clarifying how the Tax and Customs Board and the Financial Intelligence Unit may request bank information through the enforcement register. The amendments specify the grounds, permitted purposes and scope of requests, alongside safeguards for individuals' banking information. They follow the Chancellor of Justice's finding that state access to bank information was not sufficiently clearly regulated in law. The Financial Intelligence Unit may request bank account statements only to the extent necessary for specific proceedings and when the information cannot be obtained otherwise. Requests must be logged, with their necessity and legal basis documented for subsequent review. The Data Protection Inspectorate also regularly checks requests for account statements. Individuals must generally be notified four years after the unit obtains their statements. Notification may be postponed by up to two additional years where justified, including when disclosure could undermine crime detection or prevention. For the Tax and Customs Board, the existing approach remains unchanged: bank information requests must relate to specific tax proceedings. As a general rule, the board must first seek the information from the taxpayer and explain its reasons for approaching the bank.