AML rule enacted by EU Parliament
To oversee the new regulation, the bloc established AMLA, a new body.
Crypto platforms will be obligated to FIUs if legislation is ever implemented.
The European Parliament has established a new Rule to address instances of terrorist financing and violations of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.
EU Creates U Agency to Keep an Eye on AML Regulation
A new organization, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA), will oversee and supervise the implementation of the new law. The AMLA’s headquarters will be located in Frankfurt. The Council has not yet legally enacted the law or published it in the EU Official Journal.
In line with the EU Parliament, the authorities will furnish persons and organizations with legal interest with quick, unfiltered, direct, and free beneficial ownership information kept in national registries and networked at the EU level. Journalists, media professionals, civil society organizations, capable authorities, and oversight agencies are among those who fit this description.
In the meanwhile, these registries intend to add data from as far back as five years to their database. It is important to note that a month or two ago, certain media outlets reported that the European Union had effectively banned cryptocurrency transactions made using non-custodial wallets that lacked verification.
At the time, lawmakers of the EU Parliament had recently passed a new AML package, which was reportedly the main reason behind the move. Crypto aficionados expressed outrage over the announcement, fearing the impending ban’s impact on the market. However, the EU’s most recent statement provides a more succinct summary of the situation.
FIU requires Cryptocurrency Exchanges
The new AML rules empower Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to analyze and identify instances of money laundering or terrorist funding. They also grant FIUs legal authority to halt any suspicious transactions.
Obliged institutions such as banks, cryptocurrency asset managers, and others must conduct complete due diligence and stringent checks to confirm the customer’s identification in accordance with the AML law. They must also notify the FIUs or any other authorized authority of any suspicious activity discovered during this procedure. The new regulation still only applies to specific customer segments.
For example, elite football teams that typically engage in high-value financial transactions with sponsors or investors will not be impacted by the new AML law until 2029. Verifying their clients, keeping an eye on their transactions, and reporting any suspicious activity to the FIUs would be necessary for all transactions, including those involving advertisements and player transfers.
