Explained: The Anti-Money Laundering Authority

The European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) is a Union body established in 2024. The AMLA has its seat in Frankfurt am Main. The AMLA’s objective is to strengthen the current anti-money laundering and countering of terrorism financing (AML/CFT) framework in the European Union. By its establishment, the European Union seeks to bring AML/CFT supervision to a consistent and uniform application across the Union, rather than relying on the prior fragmented regulatory approach of the various national authorities of the Member States.

The tasks conferred on the AMLA include (i) the monitoring of developments across the internal market as well as the assessment of threats, vulnerabilities and risks in relation to money laundering, (ii) the establishment of a central AML/CFT database of information collected from supervisory authorities, (iii) ensuring the compliance of selected entities with the AML/CFT requirements applicable to them, and (iv) carrying out supervisory reviews and assessments at the level of individual entities and at group-wide level in order to determine whether the internal policies, procedures and controls put in place by the selected entities are adequate to comply with the requirements applicable to them.

The powers conferred on the AMLA include the power to issue guidelines and recommendations to supervisors and supervisory authorities, as well as settle, with binding effect, disagreements between financial supervisors, including in the context of the AML/CFT supervisory colleges. The AMLA has also been conferred with the power to collect information and statistics in relation to the tasks and activities of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) as well as request non-operational data and analyses from FIUs. In cases of non-compliance, the AMLA has the power to issue binding decisions addressed to individual selected obliged entities, as well as apply administrative measures and impose pecuniary sanctions.

In exceptional circumstances following serious, repeated or systematic breaches, the AMLA may submit a request to the Commission to transfer temporarily the relevant tasks and powers related to direct supervision of the entity from the financial supervisor to the AMLA. The Commission has one month to respond to the AMLA’s request.

In 2026, the AMLA is working with national supervisors to test its risk assessment methodology and selection process for the 40 high-risk financial institutions in the European Union which it will directly supervise from 2028, when it becomes fully operational.