In order to enlarge the scope of the existing regulatory framework and
to close possible loopholes, today the Council agreed its position on an
anti-money laundering (AML) regulation and a new directive (AMLD6).
Together with the proposal for a recast of the transfer of funds
regulation, on which an agreement has already been reached with the
European Parliament, these will form the new EU AML rulebook once adopted.
Terrorists and those who finance them are not welcome in
Europe. In order to launder dirty money, criminal individuals and
organisations had to look for loopholes in our existing rules which are
already quite strict. But our intention is to close these loopholes
further, and to apply even stricter rules in all EU member states. Large
cash payments beyond €10.000 will become impossible. Trying to stay
anonymous when buying or selling crypto-assets will become much more
difficult. Hiding behind multiple layers of ownership of companies won’t
work any more. It will even become difficult to launder dirty money via
jewellers or goldsmiths.
Zbyněk Stanjura, Minister for Finance of Czechia
The new EU anti-money laundering and combating the financing of
terrorism (AML/CFT) rules will be extended to the entire crypto sector,
obliging all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs)
to conduct due diligence on their customers. This means that they will
have to verify facts and information about their customers. In its
position, the Council demands CASPs to apply customer due diligence
measures when carrying out transactions amounting to €1000 or more, and
adds measures to mitigate risks in relation to transactions with
self-hosted wallets. The Council also introduced specific enhanced due
diligence measures for cross-border correspondent relationships for
crypto-asset service providers.
Third-party financing intermediaries, persons
trading in precious metals, precious stones and cultural goods, will
also be subject to the obligations of the regulation, as will jewellers, horologists and goldsmiths.
By limiting large cash payments, the EU will make it harder for criminals to launder dirty money. An EU-wide maximum limit of €10.000 is set for cash payments. Member states will have the flexibility to impose a lower maximum limit if they wish.
The EU is committed to fighting money laundering and cutting terrorist financing
Third countries that are listed by the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF, the international standard setter in anti-money
laundering) will also be listed by the EU. There will accordingly be
two EU lists, a “black list” and a “grey list”, reflecting the FATF
listings. The Commission will not be required to redo the identification
process performed by the FATF. This is to ensure that FATF lists are
transcribed in a timely manner and to avoid wasting resources. Once a
third country appears on one of these lists, the EU will apply measures
proportionate to the risks posed by the country.
In its position, the Council decided to make beneficial ownership rules
more transparent and to harmonise them more. In particular, the Council
clarifies that beneficial ownership is based on two components –
ownership and control – which need to be analysed in order to assess how
control is exercised over a legal entity, and to identify all natural
persons who are the beneficial owners of that legal entity. Related
rules applicable to multi-layered ownership and control structures are
also clarified. The Council also spells out further how to identify and
verify the identity of beneficial owners across types of entities,
including non-EU entities. Data protection and record retention
provisions are also clarified. This is expected to make the work of the
competent authorities easier and faster.
Member states should ensure that any natural or legal person that can
demonstrate a legitimate interest has access to information held in the
beneficial ownership registers, and such persons should include those journalists and civil society organisations that are connected with the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The package also foresees i.a. the clarification of outsourcing
provisions, the clarification of the powers of supervisors, a minimum
set of information to which all financial intelligence units (national
centres for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports
and relevant money laundering information) should have access, as well
as improved cooperation among authorities.
Background
On 20 July 2021, the Commission presented its package of legislative
proposals to strengthen the EU’s rules on anti-money laundering and
countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). This package consists
of:
- a regulation establishing a new EU anti-money laundering authority
(AMLA) which will have powers to impose sanctions and penalties
- a regulation recasting the regulation on transfers of funds which
aims to make transfers of crypto-assets more transparent and fully
traceable
- a regulation on anti-money-laundering requirements for the private sector
- a directive on anti-money-laundering mechanisms
Now that the Council has agreed its position on the anti-money
laundering regulation and directive, it is ready to start trilogue
negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree on a final
version of the texts.