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European parliament calls for an EU FIU and more funding for AML efforts

By Mark Ford on July 26, 2021

The European Commission has presented an ambitious package of four legislative proposals to strengthen the European Union’s (EU’s) anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules, which includes the creation of a new EU authority to fight money laundering (Trade-based Financial Crime, 21 July 2021, New EU AML Authority centrepiece in European Commission’s ambitious AML/CFT proposals).

One of the key tasks for the new EU AML Authority (AMLA) is to enhance cooperation among national financial intelligence units (FIUs).

But the European Parliament wants AMLA’s work with FIUs to be even more robust and has called on the commission to consider creating an EU coordination and support mechanism in the form of an EU FIU that would be given budgetary and functional independence.

Scope

The EU FIU would ensure that the responsibilities of AMLA as the AML/CTF supervisor cover financial and non-financial obliged entities with direct supervision powers over certain obliged entities depending on their size or the risk they present according to the parliament.

It says this would be in addition to the supervision of the application of EU rules by national supervisors and there would be a clear division of the respective powers of the EU and national supervisors.

Lack of funding

But the parliament concluded that the budgetary and human resources proposed by the commission are not sufficient to provide for an EU FIU.

It also concluded that more human and financial resources should be allocated to the fight against money laundering.

More information on the European Commission’s AML package and links to texts of the four legislative proposals can be found here.