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EU Proposals for a Regulation and a Directive on Anti-Money Laundering on the path to final adoption

22/01/2024

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Related topics: Banking and financeMoney laundering

On 18 January 2024, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a part of the new anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (“AML/CTF”) package, which includes four texts:

  1. Regulation 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets;
  2. Proposal for a Regulation establishing the Authority for AML/CTF (AMLA), for which a provisional agreement between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament was reached on 13 December 2023;
  3. Proposal for a Regulation on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of ML/TF (the “Regulation”);
  4. Proposal for a Directive on the mechanisms to be put in place by the Member States for the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of ML/TF and repealing Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the “Directive”).

The current provisional agreement pertains to the Regulation and the Directive.

In a nutshell, the Regulation gathers all AML/CFT rules applying to the private sector. Its scope is extended to new entities, such as crypto-asset service providers (“CASPs”), traders of luxury goods, and professional football clubs and agents. Enhanced due diligence is required for cross-border correspondent relationships for CASPs, for very wealthy individuals and for high-risks third countries. The Regulation also introduces a limit on large cash payments over EUR 10.000 and provides for specifications on beneficial ownership, including registration requirements.

The proposals have to be finalised and, if approved, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament will have to formally adopt the texts before their publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

Should you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact one of our experts in the regulatory team.

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