€500 note may go in fraud law

THE €500 note should be scrapped to cut down on fraud, MPs have suggested.

The measure is one of 30 in a report by a cross-party group of MPs, presented to the National Assembly today.

"France should push for the end of the €500 note," says the report.

"Since the withdrawal of the $1,000 bill, the €500 represents the next highest value piece of cash.

"Laundering money often resorts to the use of cash."

Along with the cash crackdown, yachts registered in tax havens should be banned from the territorial waters of France, the report says.

The report also recommends fixing the threshold for payment in cash at €3,000 for individuals and €1,100 for commercial transactions.

It says France should establish a list of non-cooperative territories – those involved in money laundering – and use it to restrict access to French markets for companies and their subsidiaries based in these countries.

A 'fraud squad' of specially trained police officers under the authority of a public prosecutor should also be set up, the report says.