EU's New Anti-Money Laundering Agency to Be Based in Frankfurt

Representatives of the European Union and the European Parliament reached an agreement on February 22 regarding the location of the future European agency for combating money laundering and terrorism financing (AMLA). As reported on the European Parliament's website, its headquarters will be located in Frankfurt, Germany.

The newly established agency will include over 400 employees, and its work is set to begin at the end of 2025. As stated in the announcement, the new agency will be a key aspect of reforming the anti-money laundering system in the EU. It will have direct and indirect supervisory powers, as well as the authority to impose sanctions and other restrictive measures.

"AMLA will change the game rules in combating dirty money in the EU. It will oversee the riskiest financial institutions, monitor the non-financial sector, and play a crucial role in preventing attempts to evade targeted financial sanctions," the European Parliament's website states.

The European Commission proposed the creation of AMLA as early as July 2021 due to insufficient resources to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, particularly in light of scandalous cases such as the Danske Bank affair.

The EU Council and the European Parliament agreed to establish the agency at the end of 2023.

Earlier The Gaze reported, that in January of this year, the institutions reached preliminary agreement on part of the package of measures aimed at protecting EU citizens and the EU financial system from money laundering and terrorism financing.

According to it, all anti-money laundering rules currently applied to the private sector will be transferred to the new regulation, and the directive will concern the organization of institutional systems for combating money laundering and terrorism financing at the national level in EU member states.

It is noted that the new rules will cover, among other things, a larger part of the cryptocurrency sector, requiring all providers of crypto asset services (CASP) to conduct proper customer verification. This means they will need to verify facts and information about their clients and report suspicious activities.