The EU has decided. A new money laundering office will be established near Poland

The 27 member states of the European Union and representatives of the European Parliament decided in Brussels on the seat of the new EU institution. The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLA) will operate in Germany, in Frankfurt am Main. The office is scheduled to start operating in mid-2025 and will employ over 400 people.

The EU is stepping up the fight against money laundering

In 2021, the Community decided to further intensify the fight against money laundering. It was then that it was decided to establish the institution AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism). AMLA will centrally coordinate the activities of national supervisors. In the case of the “riskiest financial institutions” that operate in a large number of Member States, the office will exercise direct supervision.

“The new office will increase the effectiveness of the framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing”

The Council and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on the creation of AMLA in December 2023. “Due to the fact that financial crime has a cross-border nature, the new office will increase the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering and counteracting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework by creating an integrated mechanism together with national supervisory authorities. It is intended to guarantee that obliged entities fulfill their obligations related to (AML/CFT) in the financial sector. AMLA will also support non-financial sectors and coordinate the activities of financial intelligence units in member states,” we read of the European Council and the EU Council.

“In addition to its supervisory powers and in order to ensure compliance with the regulations, the office will have the possibility – in cases of serious, systematic or repeated violations of directly applicable requirements – to impose fines on selected obligated entities,” the Community said.