Commission welcomes political agreement on the first Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and new Anti-Money Laundering Directive

The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission’s proposals for the first anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation and the sixth AML/CFT directive.

These proposals deliver a single AML/CFT rulebook and serve as foundation for coordinating the work of the future Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). The new rules set union-wide requirements for the private sector to ensure a consistent level of checks across the Single Market. They also harmonise tasks and powers for national supervisors and Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to enable effective cross-border cooperation. Moreover, this new framework provides stronger powers for beneficial ownership registers to ensure transparency of those owning or controlling legal persons and trusts. It also harmonises rules on access to this information, making it possible for actors with a legitimate interest, including journalists and civil society, to contribute to the fight against financial crime. Wider access to real estate information will also help competent authorities to tackle misuse of those assets by criminals.

These Commission proposals were part of the AML legislative package presented in July 2021, which also included a new Regulation establishing a AML/CFT Authority (AMLA) and a revised Regulation on traceability of funds and crypto-asset transfers. The four proposals of the package have now been agreed by the co-legislators.

Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, said: “I welcome the agreement on the Regulation and Directive, which brings the EU very close to fully delivering on a new, stronger AML/CFT framework. This week’s agreements are an important milestone in the fight against dirty money in the EU. The new approach sets out rules which address decisively the weaknesses identified in the past, and provides flexible mechanisms to ensure our financial system is not an easy destination for the proceeds of crime. The ambition of the rules proves yet again the strong political will and commitment of the European Parliament and Council to deliver a new framework that can effectively prevent dirty money from being washed through the EU’s financial system.”