European Commission Demands New EU- Wide Money Laundering Rules

A new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority will be part of the reform package. This body will serve as the primary European entity in charge of coordinating national anti-money laundering bodies and financial intelligence units to guarantee that firms in each member state follow EU money laundering regulations.

It will establish a unified system for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) monitoring across Europe. More specific regulations on customer due diligence, ownership benefit, and the rights and responsibilities of supervisors and Financial Intelligence at the national level are expected to be included in this framework.

Furthermore, the AMLA will have the complete right to supervise some of the riskiest financial institutions operating in huge numbers. 

The new organization will also strive to improve national-level collaboration to assist these organizations in detecting cross-border money movements.

The revisions will also involve the development of a “blacklist” and “grey list” for those countries facing many cases of money laundering, with countries matching on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Philippines and EU member Malta were included in the FATF’s “grey list” last month.

In addition, a €10,000 cash payment restriction will be implemented. According to the European Commission, these similar laws already exist in almost two-thirds of EU member states, but they should be implemented across the board.

Finally, the proposed changes will ensure that European money-laundering rules apply to the whole crypto-asset industry, rather than just a few categories as they do now.

Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president for the EU committee, said that every money laundering scandal is equal to many and acts as a wake-up call closing the gap in the financial system.

The European President and Council will now review these changes. The AMLA is expected to be operational by 2024 once regulations are in place.

The European Gaming and Betting Association praised these restrictions and pledged to combat money laundering. The association welcomed these suggestions and reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with all relevant regulatory agencies, like the European Commission, helping to work on combating money laundering in the EU.