Deal on a single rulebook against money laundering and terrorist financing

Uniform EU supervision and consistent application of rules and sanctions

Information on beneficial owners to be accessible

More powers for Financial Intelligence Units

EU limit on large cash payments of 10 000 euro

Transparency rules to apply to football clubs from 2029

On Thursday, MEPs finalised a deal with the Council on new measures to beef up an EU toolkit to fight money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.

Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive and the EU “single rulebook” regulation. The agreed provisions, part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package, will have to be applied by banks and other obliged entities to protect the EU internal market from money laundering and terrorist financing.

The new bills provide access to beneficial ownership information and give more powers to Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to analyse and detect money laundering and terrorist financing cases as well as to suspend suspicious transactions.

During the negotiations, MEPs secured that from 2029 professional football clubs will be obliged to verify their customers’ identity, monitor transactions and report any suspicious transaction to FIUs. They also achieved enhanced vigilance regarding ultra-rich individuals.

The deal includes a European Union-wide limit on large cash payments of 10 000 euro and measures to ensure compliance with targeted financial sanctions and avoid sanctions being circumvented.

More information on the agreement on the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive can be found here and on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation, here.

Next steps

The deal needs to be formally adopted by Parliament and Council before it can come into force.

Context

In December 2023, Parliament and the Council negotiating teams reached a political agreement on establishing an Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).