On May 31, the Council adopted a package of new anti-money-laundering rules that will protect EU citizens and the EU’s financial system against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Key Highlights
- The Council adopted a new package of anti-money laundering (AML) rules to protect EU citizens and the financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing.
- The package includes:
- A new regulation that harmonizes AML rules across the EU, closing loopholes for fraudsters.
- A directive that improves the organization of national AML systems and cooperation between financial intelligence units (FIUs) and supervisors.
- The establishment of a new European Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) based in Frankfurt.
New AML Regulation
- Extends AML rules to new obliged entities like the crypto-sector, luxury goods traders, and football clubs.
- Sets tighter due diligence requirements, regulates beneficial ownership, and limits cash payments to €10,000.
- Gives AMLA direct and indirect supervisory powers over high-risk obliged entities in the financial sector.
- Allows AMLA to impose sanctions for serious, systematic, or repeated breaches of AML requirements.
New AML Directive
- Prescribes that member states make information from centralized bank account registers available through a single access point.
- Ensures national law enforcement authorities have access to these registers via the single access point.
- Harmonizes bank statement formats to aid in fighting crime and tracing proceeds.
Implementation Timeline
- The AML regulation will apply 3 years after entry into force.
- Member states have 2-3 years to transpose the AML directive.
- AMLA will be operational in mid-2025.