On July 20, 2021, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal package to enhance anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing rules, and create a new EU AML Authority (AMLA) to combat money laundering. The Commission’s goal is to make improvements to the existing EU framework by bettering methods to detect suspicious transactions and activities and address loopholes that criminals use to launder illicit proceeds or finance terrorist activities. The package includes four legislative proposals:

• “ A Regulation establishing a new EU AML/CFT Authority;
• A Regulation on AML/CFT, containing directly-applicable rules, including in the areas of Customer Due Diligence and Beneficial Ownership;
• A sixth Directive on AML/CFT (“AMLD6”), replacing the existing Directive 2015/849/EU (the fourth AML directive as amended by the fifth AML directive), containing provisions that will be transposed into national law, such as rules on national supervisors and Financial Intelligence Units in Member States;
• A revision of the 2015 Regulation on Transfers of Funds to trace transfers of crypto-assets (Regulation 2015/847/EU).”

More information on the Commission’s package of legislative proposals is available here.