The European Council and European Parliament have agreed to launch a dedicated AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) authority located in the German city of Frankfurt.
Establishing a EU-wide Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing (AMLA) has been an objective of the two bodies, the EU’s respective legislature and executive, for some time.
Nine cities bid for the rights to host the AMLA – Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius, Vienna and Frankfurt. The latter was the only non-capital city to contend, and will now host around 400 staff at the new AML authority.
“The new authority is the centrepiece of the reform of the EU’s anti-money laundering framework,” the EC explained in a press release.
“AMLA will have direct and indirect supervisory powers over obliged entities and the power to impose sanctions and measures.
“Regarding the location of the authority, the Council and the Parliament worked together to ensure a selection process that is transparent, fair and equitable to all candidates.”
As noted above, launching AMLA has been an objective of the EU for many years, with the creation of the authority mandated under a July 2021 package of legislative proposals.
The global threat of money laundering and terrorist financing has become a key area of focus for various political and economic authorities, including those of both the EU and its member states.
In some cases, this has seen government’s – via industry regulators – enforce greater compliance with gambling regulations within this sector, although this is of course not the only sector at risk., with banks and other financial services are often targets of money laundering.
In the case of one country which has all three industries at the centre of its economy, Malta, the nation recently published its National Risk Assessment, outlining continuing AML threats to its security.
