Executive Summary
On 19 June 2024, the various pieces of the new Anti-Money Laundering Package were published in the Offical Journal of the European Union. The Package comprises (i) Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, known as the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation ("AMLR"); (ii) Directive (EU) 2024/1640, also known as Anti-Money Laundering Directive 6 ("AMLD6"); and (iii) Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, or the Anti-Money Laundering Authority Regulation ("AMLAR"). Much of what is contained in it will be familiar to AIMA members who comply with the existing EU rules as well as other best practices. However, the Package does tighten or more clearly defines some existing requirements, makes new rules on issues such as data reporting and creates the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
The purpose of the three pieces of legislation can be summarised at a high level as follows:
Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (“AMLR”)
The AMLR puts in place what are intended to be more consistent or harmonised rules in all EEA jurisdictions. All EU regulations such as the AMLR are directly applicable and so apply to all EEA members states without the need for them to be transposed into each jurisdictions’ local laws and rules. The AMLR sets out the revised list of “obliged entities”, the entities and individuals within scope of the rules and their duties. These include identifying the beneficial owners of assets, carrying out varying levels of due diligence on customers and reporting relevant information to both national regulators and the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority registers.
Anti-Money Laundering Directive 6 (“AMLD6”)
This updates the requirements that EEA member states must meet under their duties to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. It also makes changes to the rules which apply to national financial intelligence units (“FIUs”). The directive’s aim is to improve the organisation of national anti-money laundering systems and set out clear rules on how FIUs and supervisors work together. This includes national supervisors such as banking and securities authorities and the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority Regulation (“AMLAR”)
This regulation establishes the new European anti-money laundering supervisory authority, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority ("AMLA"), which will take over most of the European Banking Authority’s existing AML duties and powers. To be based in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, it will also have new coordination duties, run a new central data register and for the first time supervise “large obliged entities” operating on a cross-border basis.
A full summary of the effect of the Package is available here.
Please contact James Hopegood with any questions regarding any part of the Package.
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James Hopegood
Director, Asset Management Regulation
Timeline
AIMA has categorised these requirements as Medium Priority/Medium Impact and they are therefore represented in mid-blue in the AIMA Regulatory Horizon Scan gantt chart.
| Transposition deadline for remaining AMLD6 Articles | 10 July 2027 |
| AMLR applies from | 10 July 2027 |
| Implementing Measures for AMLR Articles 18, 21, 32, 34, 37, 40, 42, 50 and 69(5) | 10 July 2027 |
| AMLA to commence first selection process for selected obliged entities | 1 July 2027 |
| Transposition deadline for certain AMLD6 Articles regarding access to beneficial ownership registers |
10 July 2026 |
| Implementing Measures for AMLR Articles 10, 16, 17, 20, 28, 68, 69(3) and 81 and AMLD6 Articles 31(2), 31(3), 40(2), 41, 46, 49 and 53 |
10 July 2026 |
| Commission authority over AMLA activities ends and AMLA stand alone operations begin |
31 December 2025 |
| Main bulk of AMLAR applies from | 1 July 2025 |
| Transposition deadline for AMLD6 Article 74 | 10 July 2025 |
| AMLR and AMLD6 effective date | 9 July 2024 |
| Commission authority to commence operation of AMLA starts | 26 July 2024 |
| AMLAR effective date | 26 June 2024 |
| AMLR, AMLD6 and AMLAR published in the Official Journal | 19 June 2024 |
| European Council adopts Package | 30 May 2024 |
| AIMA letter to European Parliament on the AMLR | 13 May 2024 |
| European Parliament plenary vote on the Package | 24 April 2024 |
| AIMA letter to the European Council | 2 December 2022 |
| AIMA responds to MEPs' AMLR amendments | 10 October 2022 |
| AIMA responds to European Parliament draft report | 31 May 2022 |
| European Parliament draft report on AMLD6 | 17 May 2022 |
| AIMA position paper on the Package | 30 November 2021 |
| AIMA summary of the Package | 21 July 2021 |
| Package published | 20 July 2021 |
Future AIMA Work
We will be holding a webinar to walk through what the final rules will require. Watch this space for details.
Pending Implementing Measures
The AML Package includes authorisations for a number of Implementing Measures under the AMLR, AMLD6 and AMLAR. Each is described briefly in the table below.
“Implementing Measures” include (i) regulatory technical standards, (ii) implementing technical standards (which may be developed by the AMLA to be adopted by the European Commission, including by delegated acts in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and (iii) guidelines developed by the AMLA or European Commission, in each case where expressly mandated in the AML Package.
| Source Document | Article and Description | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| AMLR | Article 68(1): Penalties | 10 January 2025 |
| AMLD6 | Article 10(6): Central beneficial ownership registers | 10 July 2025 |
| AMLAR | Article 11(6): Central AML/CFT database | 27 December 2025 |
| AMLAR | Article 12(7): Assessment of credit institutions and financial institutions for the purposes of selection for direct supervision | 1 January 2026 |
| Article 15(3): Cooperation within the AML/CFT supervisory system for the purposes of direct supervision | ||
| AMLAR | Article 41(2): Reporting and transmission of the results of joint analyses | 27 June 2026 |
| AMLR | Article 9(4): Scope of internal policies, procedures and controls | 10 July 2026 |
| Article 10(4): Business-wide risk assessment | ||
| Article 16(4): Group-wide requirements | ||
| Article 17(3) and (4): Branches and subsidiaries in third countries | ||
| Article 19(9): Application of customer due diligence measures | ||
| Article 20(3): Customer due diligence measures | ||
| Article 26(5): Ongoing monitoring of the business relationship and monitoring of transactions performed by customers | ||
| Article 28(1): RTS on the information necessary for the performance of customer due diligence | ||
| Article 68(2): Penalties | ||
| Article 69(3): Reporting of suspicions | ||
| Article 81(1): Cooperation between FIUs and the EPPO | ||
| AMLD6 | Article 31(2) and (3): Exchange of information between FIUs | 10 July 2026 |
| Article 40(2): Risk-based supervision | ||
| Article 41(2): Central contact points | ||
| Article 46(4): Provisions related to cooperation in the context of group supervision | ||
| Article 49(14): AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the financial sector | ||
| Article 50(13) AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the non-financial sector | ||
| Article 53(10): General provisions | ||
| Article 53(11) General provisions | ||
| AMLD6 | Article 11(5): General rules regarding access to beneficial ownership registers by competent authorities, self-regulatory bodies and obliged entities | 10 October 2026 |
| AMLAR | Article 27(7): Procedural rules for taking supervisory measures and imposing pecuniary sanctions and periodic penalty payments | 1 January 2027 |
| Article 77(6): Fees levied on selected and non-selected obliged entities | ||
| AMLR | Article 18(8): Outsourcing | 10 July 2027 |
| Article 21(4): Inability to comply with the requirement to apply customer due diligence measures | ||
| Article 32(1): Guidelines on money laundering and terrorist financing risks, trends and methods | ||
| Article 34(5): Scope of application of enhanced due diligence measures | ||
| Article 37(3): Specific enhanced due diligence measures for cross-border correspondent relationships for crypto-asset service providers | ||
| Article 40(2): Measures to mitigate risks in relation to transactions with a self-hosted address | ||
| Article 42(2): Specific provisions regarding politically exposed persons | ||
| Article 50: Guidelines on reliance on other obliged entities | ||
| Article 69(5): Reporting of suspicions | ||
| AMLR | Article 56: Notifications | 10 October 2027 |
| Article 57(3): Identification of beneficial owners for legal entities similar to express trusts | ||
| AMLD6 | Article 53(5): General provisions | 10 October 2027 |
| AMLD6 | Article 3(8): Identification of exposed sectors at national level | 10 July 2028 |
| Article 5(5): Requirements relating to the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment | ||
| Article 7(2): Risk assessment at Union level | ||
| Article 10(7): Central beneficial ownership registers | ||
| Article 17(2): Implementing acts for the interconnection of registers | ||
| Article 19(10): Establishment of the FIU | ||
| Article 28(1): Feedback by FIUs | ||
| Article 31(4) Exchange of information between FIUs | ||
| Article 31(8): Exchange of information by FIUs | ||
| Article 34(3): Consent to further dissemination of information exchanged between FIUs | ||
| Article 40(3): Risk-based supervision | ||
| AMLR | Article 52(2): Beneficial ownership through ownership interest | 10 July 2029 |
| AMLD6 | Article 6(8): Checks on the senior management and beneficial ownership of certain obliged entities | 10 July 2029 |
| Article 9(4): Statistics | ||
| Article 16(6): Bank account registers and electronic data retrieval systems | ||
| Article 31(9): Exchange of information between FIUs | ||
| Article 34(4): Consent to further dissemination of information exchanged between FIUs | ||
| Article 50(14): AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the financial sector | ||
| Article 51(4): Cooperation with supervisors in third countries | ||
| Article 64(6): Cooperation in relation to credit institutions or financial institutions | ||
| Article 69: AML/CFT cooperation guidelines | ||
| ALMD6 | Article 5(7): Requirements relating to the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment | 10 July 2030 |
| Article 7(5): Risk assessment at Union level | ||
| Article 7(7): Risk assessment at Union level | ||
| Article 9(6): Statistics | ||
| AMLAR | Article 102(1): Evaluation and review | 31 December 2030 |
| AMLD6 | Article 10(21): Central beneficial ownership registers | 10 July 2031 |
| AMLD6 | Article 18(6): Single access point to real estate information | 10 July 2032 |
| AMLR | Article 16(5): Group-wide requirements | No date specified |
| Article 29(2): Identification of third countries with significant strategic deficiencies in their national AML/CFT regimes | ||
| Article 30(2): Identification of third countries with compliance weaknesses in their national AML/CFT regimes | ||
| Article 31(9): Identification of third countries posing a specific and serious threat to the Union’s financial system | ||
| Article 34(7): Scope of application of enhanced due diligence measure | ||
| Article 43(5): List of prominent public functions | ||
| Article 57(4): Identification of beneficial owners for legal entities similar to express trusts | ||
| Article 58(5): Identification of beneficial owners for express trusts and similar legal arrangements | ||
| AMLD6 | Article 9(5): Statistics | No date specified |
| Article 14(1): Templates and procedures | ||
| Article 17(1): Implementing acts for the interconnection of registers | ||
| AMLAR | Article 6(4): Powers of the Authority | No date specified |
| Article 8(3): AML/CFT supervisory methodology | ||
| Article 16(6): Joint supervisory teams | ||
| Article 30(1): Assessments of the state of supervisory convergence | ||
| Article 77(6): Fees levied on selected and non-selected obliged entities |