International Authority Based in Frankfurt Commenced Operations on July 1, 2025
AMLA, the European authority for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, began its operations on July 1, 2025. AMLA stands for Anti-Money Laundering Authority. The authority, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is the cornerstone of the EU anti-money laundering package adopted in 2024 and aims to address previous deficiencies in Europe’s fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The new EU regulation provides the legal basis for AMLA and is binding in all European member states. It has far-reaching impacts on the financial sector and the regulatory landscape across Europe.
Until now, the fight against money laundering was largely left to the EU member states. This is set to change. AMLA acts both as a coordination body and an operational supervisory authority with the objective of effectively countering cross-border financial crime. AMLA’s new provisions and measures establish uniform European standards for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The authority will directly supervise around 40 financial sector entities across borders that are especially vulnerable to money laundering. These include, besides banks, companies in the cryptocurrency sector, according to the law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which advises on corporate criminal law and allegations of money laundering.
With the establishment of AMLA, the impact on combating crime and criminal activities in Europe is significantly strengthened. The authority is intended to help more effectively disrupt organized crime and its financial flows and to ensure compliance with European regulations.
Thus, AMLA represents a central theme of European anti-money laundering efforts and embodies a new approach to combating financial crime at the EU level.
Organization and Structure of AMLA
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), as an independent authority headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is the new center of European anti-money laundering efforts. Its primary goal is the effective fight against money laundering and terrorist financing across the entire EU. AMLA was established to ensure compliance with the strict EU standards for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and to strengthen cooperation among member states.
AMLA’s organization is clearly structured to meet the diverse demands in the fight against financial crime. The authority is divided into several specialized departments, each focusing on different priorities. The Risk Management Department analyzes current threats and develops strategies to minimize risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing. The Prevention Department is responsible for developing and implementing standards and measures for money laundering prevention. It creates guidelines and supports companies in complying with legal requirements. The Enforcement Department works closely with national and European law enforcement agencies to coordinate the prosecution of money laundering offenses and the enforcement of sanctions.
A central element of AMLA’s work is close cooperation with other authorities and institutions. These include the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the national supervisory authorities of the EU member states. This collaboration ensures a uniform approach against money laundering and terrorist financing across Europe. In addition, AMLA participates in international networks such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to promote global standards and further improve the quality of anti-money laundering efforts.
AMLA not only develops binding standards and guidelines for obligated entities but also monitors their compliance. In cases of non-compliance, the authority can impose severe sanctions. This ensures a high level of transparency and reliability in the European financial system and helps secure adherence to anti-money laundering laws throughout the EU.
Another important task of AMLA is the collection and analysis of data on money laundering and terrorist financing. The authority receives information from obligated entities and other sources to identify patterns, trends, and new methods of money laundering at an early stage. This data analysis supports not only prevention but also targeted enforcement and the development of new measures to combat money laundering.
Overall, AMLA is a key component in the European fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Through its structured organization, close cooperation with other authorities, and consistent monitoring of compliance with standards, the authority significantly contributes to protecting the financial systems of EU member states and sustainably improving the quality of money laundering prevention.
Direct Supervision of Particularly High-Risk Entities
According to a defined procedure, around 40 such high-risk companies are to be identified at regular intervals and directly supervised by AMLA. Direct supervision involves extensive intervention powers by the authority. It can issue binding decisions, conduct on-site inspections, and impose substantial fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover or 10 million euros, whichever amount is higher. Monitoring business relationships is a key instrument to detect suspicious activities early and prevent money laundering.
In addition, AMLA assumes a coordination and harmonization duty towards national supervisory authorities. It develops common supervisory standards, publishes guidelines and technical standards, organizes thematic reviews, and can oblige Member States to make corrections in case of deficiencies. Within supervision, in particular the origin and injection of illegal funds into the legal financial system is verified to prevent the concealment of the source of the money. For example, criminals use shell companies to inject funds from drug trafficking or other illegal businesses into the economy to disguise their illegal origin. The non-financial sector, such as real estate companies, lawyers, or notaries, is increasingly coming under the focus of EU-wide coordinated supervision. Compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the related obligations is binding for all affected companies. National differences in detail are pushed back in favor of uniform regulations within the EU. The monitoring of transactions and the tracing of money origins play a crucial role within AMLA to prevent the injection of illegal funds.
Close cooperation with national reporting offices
Another focus lies in cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). These national offices for suspicious transactions are to be more networked and supported in their work by AMLA. The flow of information between Member States is to be facilitated and accelerated by the authority to effectively detect and combat international money laundering. Banks are legally obliged to monitor suspicious activities on accounts and to report accordingly to the competent authorities to uncover illegal money flows and financial crime. For this purpose, AMLA cooperates with other EU institutions such as Europol, Eurojust, or the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to integrate prosecution and preventive supervision more closely.
For banks, financial service providers, and advisors, AMLA brings far-reaching changes. The times when institutions could rely on divergent national implementation practices in doubt are over. Instead, a Europe-wide uniform standard applies, enforced by an authority with clear intervention rights. Compliance systems must be accordingly expanded and harmonized; internal processes for risk analysis, customer monitoring, and suspicious activity reporting will be subject to even stricter external control in the future. Criminal actors use various accounts to conceal the origin of illegal funds and channel them into the legal economy. The crypto sector, repeatedly identified in recent years as an entry point for money laundering, is for the first time systematically integrated into European supervision. Crypto service providers must prepare for intensive scrutiny.
Cash payment limit
Another important aspect of the new European regulations is the cash payment ceiling. From 2027, payments in cash throughout the EU internal market may only be made up to an amount of 10,000 euros. Compliance with this cash limit is to be ensured by AMLA. A central problem is that the injection of large cash sums of unknown origin into the legal economy complicates the detection of illegal funds. The use of cash enables criminals to conceal the source of their funds, transfer illegal assets, and protect them from state access. For example, buying luxury goods with cash can hide the true origin of the money, causing significant damage to the economy and the integrity of the financial system. In practice, this means a tightened obligation especially for traders, real estate companies, and notaries to strictly document cash acceptance and observe limits.
Effectively combating cross-border money laundering
With the start of its operations, AMLA marks the beginning of a new era in European anti-money laundering supervision. It combines harmonization with enforcement strength and gives the fight against financial crime new momentum. Close cooperation between states is crucial, as money laundering is a global problem requiring international measures. Patchworks created by varying national regulations should become a thing of the past in order to combat financial crime more effectively. The impact of money laundering on the economy and financial sector is significant, as illegal financial flows threaten the stability and integrity of the economy. The new legal frameworks and the resources deployed, such as stricter compliance requirements and governmental controls, aim to make the fight against money laundering more effective. For financial institutions, crypto providers, and advisory professions, this results in stricter obligations, higher liability risks, and an increasing need for advice. Criminal prosecution of offenders, especially money launderers, is the focus to prevent the injection of criminally acquired assets into the legal economic cycle.
The authority is also authorized to impose high fines. Not only companies but also board members and managing directors can be affected, as they may personally face risks.
MTR Legal lawyers advise on allegations of money laundering and other topics of economic criminal law.
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