The creation of the new EU Authority will transform the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision in the EU and enhance cooperation among financial intelligence units (FIUs).
What the EU is doing and why
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Authority (AMLA) will be the central authority coordinating national authorities to ensure the correct and consistent application of EU rules. In the financial sector, the Authority will directly supervise those financial sector entities exposed to the highest risk of money laundering and terrorism financing.
AMLA will also support financial intelligence units (FIUs) to improve their analytical capacity around illicit flows and make financial intelligence a key source for law enforcement agencies. The Authority will facilitate cooperation between FIUs, including by establishing standards for reporting and information exchange, supporting joint operational analyses, and by hosting the central online system, FIU.net.
AMLA will be a decentralised EU regulatory agency and its seat will be located in Frankfurt.
This Commission proposal for creating of AMLA was part of the AML legislative package presented in July 2021.
Timeline
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10 January 2024Seat selection procedure
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18 December 2023Seat selection procedure
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28 September 2023Call for application
At the request of the co-legislators, which have agreed on the selection criteria, the Commission launched a call for applications to Member States for the selection of the seat of AMLA.
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20 July 2021Legislative proposal
The European Commission presented an ambitious package of legislative proposals to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules. The package harmonises AML/CFT rules across the EU. It also proposes the creation of a new EU authority to fight money laundering.
Conclusion:
The creation of the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Authority (AMLA) is an important step in the European Union’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This new authority will coordinate national authorities to ensure the correct and consistent application of EU rules. In the financial sector, AMLA will directly supervise entities that face the highest risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, the AMLA will support financial intelligence services by improving their analytical capabilities on illicit flows. This initiative reflects the EU’s commitment to strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.
