The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a preliminary agreement on the creation of a new European anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AMLA), the EU Council has announced.
AMLA will have direct and indirect supervisory powers over high-risk individuals in the financial sector.
Taking into account the cross-border nature of financial crimes, the new body will contribute to the effective fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) by creating an integrated mechanism with national supervisory authorities to enforce the obligations of persons in the financial sector in relation to AML/CFT. AMLA will also play a supporting role in the non-financial sectors and coordinate financial intelligence in member states.
In addition to supervisory powers, AMLA will have the power to impose monetary sanctions in cases of serious, systematic or repeated breaches of the requirements.
The preliminary agreement adds to the AMLA's authority to directly supervise certain types of credit and financial institutions, including service providers of cryptocurrency assets, if they are considered high-risk or operate overseas.
AMLA will select credit and financial institutions that represent a high risk in several member countries. The selected entities will be supervised by joint teams led by AMLA, which will, among other things, carry out assessments and inspections. The agreement allows AMLA to monitor up to 40 groups and organizations during the first selection.
National oversight remains for non-selected AML/CFT entities. The Office will determine that selected entities have internal policies and procedures for implementing targeted financial sanctions, asset freezes and asset forfeitures.
The text of the preliminary agreement will be edited and submitted for approval to the representatives of the member states and the European Parliament, and upon approval, the Council and the Parliament will formally adopt the text.
