Council of EU Adopts New Anti-Money Laundering Rules, Creating New Agency
The Council of the European Union on May 30 adopted new anti-money laundering rules, which "exhaustively harmonises anti-money laundering rules for the first time throughout the EU." The rules are extended to new entities, including "most of the crypto-sector, traders of luxury goods and football clubs and agents."
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The new rules also impose "tighter" due diligence requirements and limits cash payments to nearly $11,000. The council's directive will boost the organization of national anti-money laundering systems, laying out "clear rules on how financial intelligence units" and supervisors collaborate.
A new European Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism will be established, which will have "direct and indirect supervisory powers over high-risk obliged entities in the financial sector." The authority will create an "integrated mechanism with national supervisors" to establish compliance with anti-money laundering obligations in the financial sector and will be able to impose "pecuniary sanctions."
The regulation will enter into force after publication in the EU's Official Journal. It will apply three years after entering into force, with member states having two years to implement certain provisions of the rules and three years for others. The new authority will be located in Frankfurt and open in "mid-2025," the council said.