On Thursday, MEPs finalised a deal with the Council on new measures to beef up an EU toolkit to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.
Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive and the EU “single rulebook” regulation. The agreed provisions, part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package, will have to be applied by banks and other obliged entities to protect the EU internal market from money laundering and terrorist financing.
The new bills provide access to beneficial ownership information and give more powers to Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to analyse and detect money laundering and terrorist financing cases as well as to suspend suspicious transactions.
During the negotiations, MEPs secured that from 2029 professional football clubs will be obliged to verify their customers’ identity, monitor transactions and report any suspicious transaction to FIUs. They also achieved enhanced vigilance regarding ultra-rich individuals.
The deal includes a European Union-wide limit on large cash payments of 10 000 euro and measures to ensure compliance with targeted financial sanctions and avoid sanctions being circumvented.
The deal needs to be formally adopted by Parliament and Council before it can come into force.
In December 2023, Parliament and the Council negotiating teams reached a political agreement on establishing an Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).
