On February 12, 2024, the Council of the European Union published the final compromise texts on the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (“AML-R”) and the so-called Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“AML-D”). With the publication, the legislative process of the “AML package”, which began in 2021, is nearing its conclusion.
Components of the package
The original package proposed by the Commission in 2021 still consisted of four parts
- a regulation establishing a new EU Anti-Money Laundering Agency (AMLA), which will have the power to impose sanctions and penalties
- a Regulation recasting the Regulation on transfers of funds, which aims to make the transfer of crypto-assets more transparent and fully traceable
- a regulation on anti-money laundering requirements for the private sector and
- a directive on anti-money laundering mechanisms.
In the course of the legislative process, however, the components were gradually split up. For example, the proposed amendments to the Money Transfers Regulation were already adopted in June 2022, as there was broad agreement on the content of the amendments (see the revised Money Transfers Regulation here).
Published compromise texts
The compromise texts of the new AML-R and AML-D that have now been published form the core of the new package. In particular, the new AML-R will largely replace the German Money Laundering Act and the national laws of the other EU member states implementing the previous EU Money Laundering Directives. From then on, the AML-R will be directly applicable law in all EU member states. In particular, the AML-R contains regulations on obliged entities, risk management, the requirements for general due diligence obligations, the transparency of beneficial owners and the regulations on suspicious activity reports. The AML-D (to be transposed into national law) contains, in particular, provisions on the establishment of registers of beneficial owners, financial intelligence units (FIUs) and supervisory authorities. Only in this respect will regulations still be required in the German AMLA in the future.
Further procedure
With the adoption of the compromise texts, only one regulation of the AML package is still outstanding: The regulation on the seat of the future AMLA. The vote on the seat will take place on February 22, 2024. The texts of the AMLA Regulation, AML-R and AML-D must now be published in the Official Journal of the EU. This is expected to happen within the next three to six months. The AML-R will apply to obliged entities for three years after this date (Art. 65). The member states must adopt the national provisions for implementing the AML-D within two years of publication of the AML-D in the Official Journal. The national provisions are to apply three years after publication of the AML-D in the Official Journal.
What comes next?
This article is the first in a series on the new AML-R and AML-D regulations. It takes a detailed look at the key points of the regulations and their impact on combating money laundering in the EU. We have linked all further articles for you here:
