The European Commission Has Proposed a New Anti-Money Laundering Agency Under Its Reformatory Agenda

The European Commission Has Proposed a New Anti-Money Laundering Agency Under Its Reformatory Agenda

The European Commission unveiled a set of legislative measures on Tuesday aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism funding in the EU. A proposal to form a new anti-money laundering watchdog was included in the package.

Under the agency, there are four key areas that are sought to be met. The first is a rule creating a new European Union anti-money laundering agency. Second, a rule aimed at preventing the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist funding. Likewise, a sixth directive on the procedures that Member States must put in place to achieve the second proposal, as well as a modification of the 2015 rule on information accompanying money and certain crypto-asset transactions, are also included.

The new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be charged with encouraging collaboration among the various member nations' financial intelligence units (FIUs). The AMLA will act as the EU's central authority, coordinating national authorities in member states to guarantee that EU regulations are applied correctly and consistently.

In addition, the AMLA will act as a hovering watchdog over the more vulnerable financial institutions operating in a significant number of Member States, or it will require prompt action to address pressing concerns. It will also keep track of and coordinate national supervisors overseeing other financial firms, as well as supervisors overseeing non-financial companies.

Conclusively, a single EU rulebook for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (CFT); full application of anti-money laundering and CFT rules to the cryptocurrency sector; an EU-wide limit of €10,000 on large cash payments; and directives on cooperating with non-EU countries to combat global anti-money laundering are among the other provisions in the proposals.