Anyone buying a prepay card in Romania in future will have to submit their personal data, their name and ID number respectively, according to a bill adopted on Thursday by the Romanian government.

The aim is to allow Romania’s intelligence services to identify prepay card holders, if a judge decides it is necessary.

The bill was proposed by country’s Supreme Defence Council, CSAT, as a large number of financial crimes have been committed with the use of prepaid cards. This is because the identity of those holding them is currently untraceable.

“We expect the law to come into force next year. Any owner of prepay cards will have six months to register their phone number and ID… the law will also apply to companies, which must present the company founding papers,” the Minister of Justice, Robert Cazanciuc, explained.

Critics say the law will violate people’s fundamental right to privacy and will not curb crime, however.

“The government should explain further why such a law is necessary. There is no clear evidence that retaining the personal data of prepay card holders will diminish criminal activity in Romania,” military analyst Cornel Codita said.

Romania tried to impose a similar law in August 2012, following the terrorist attack in Burgas, Bulgaria.

The argument used was that prepay cards can not only be used for economic crime but for terrorist activities as well. The law was later rejected by parliament, however.