Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism

What it is

PURPOSE: to e stablish the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA). PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: all recent major money laundering cases reported in the EU had a cross-border dimension. The detection of these financial movements is however left to the national Financial Investigation Units (FIUs) and to cooperation among them. While this reflects the operational independence and autonomy of FIUs, the absence of a common structure to underpin this cooperation leads to situations where joint analyses are not performed for lack of common tools or resources. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted a joint report by Eva Maria POPTCHEVA (Renew Europe, ES) and Emil RADEV (EPP, BG) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) 1094/2010, (EU) 1095/2010. This proposal seeks to establish an EU authority for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AMLA). Its objective being to protect the public interest, the stability and the integrity of the Union’s financial system. It should identify and assess risks and threats of money laundering, especially of the broader and more complex schemes associated with criminal organisations, and terrorist financing across the internal market, as well as risks and threats originating from outside the Union that are impacting, or have the potential to impact the internal market. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: - monitor and respond to developments across the internal market and assess threats, vulnerabilities and risks in relation to money laundering/terrorist financing (ML/TF), including cross-border transactions; - contribute to the drawing up of the lists of high risk third countries ; - monitor and support the implementation of targeted financial sanctions, asset freezes and confiscations under the Union restrictive measures across the internal market, as well as publish information on asset freezes, seizures and confiscations; - issue publications and provide training and other services to obliged entities and non-obliged entities in order to raise awareness of, and address, ML/TF risks and risks related to targeted financial sanctions; - conduct peer reviews of the fulfilment, by the entities in charge of central beneficial ownership registers , of the requirements laid down in the proposal for 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive). - carry out mediation upon the request of a financial supervisor; - take supervisory decisions directly applicable to the obliged entities concerned in accordance with this Regulation - receive data and…

Official title: Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (Text with EEA relevance)