SECTION 1 — Subject matter, scope and definitions
Subject matter
This Directive lays down rules concerning:
(a)
the measures applicable to sectors exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing, at national level;
(b)
the requirements in relation to registration of, identification of, and checks on, senior management and beneficial owners of obliged entities;
(c)
the identification of money laundering and terrorist financing risks at Union and Member State level;
(d)
the set-up of and access to beneficial ownership and bank account registers and access to real estate information;
(e)
the responsibilities and tasks of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs);
(f)
the responsibilities and tasks of bodies involved in the supervision of obliged entities;
(g)
cooperation between competent authorities and cooperation with authorities covered by other Union legal acts.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the definitions set out in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 apply.
The following definitions also apply:
(1)
‘financial supervisor’ means a supervisor in charge of credit institutions and financial institutions;
(2)
‘non-financial supervisor’ means a supervisor in charge of the non-financial sector;
(3)
‘non-financial sector’ means the obliged entities listed in Article 3, point (3), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
(4)
‘obliged entity’ means a natural or legal person listed in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 that is not exempted in accordance with Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of that Regulation;
(5)
‘home Member State’ means the Member State where the registered office of the obliged entity is located or, if the obliged entity has no registered office, the Member State in which its head office is located;
(6)
‘host Member State’ means a Member State, other than the home Member State, in which the obliged entity operates an establishment, such as a subsidiary or a branch, or where the obliged entity operates under the freedom to provide services through an infrastructure;
(7)
‘customs authorities’ means the customs authorities as defined in Article 5, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 34 ) and the competent authorities as defined in Article 2(1), point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 35 ) ;
(8)
‘AML/CFT supervisory college’ means a permanent structure for cooperation and information sharing for the purposes of supervising a group or an entity that operates in a host Member State or third country;
(9)
‘draft national measure’ means the text of an act, whichever its form, which, once enacted, will have legal effect, the text being at a stage of preparation at which substantial amendments can still be made;
(10)
‘securities account’ means a securities account as defined in Article 2(1), point (28), of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 36 ) ;
(11)
‘securities’ means financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 37 ) .
SECTION 2 — National measures in sectors exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing
Identification of exposed sectors at national level
1. Where a Member State identifies that, in addition to obliged entities, entities in other sectors are exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing risks, it may decide to apply all or part of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 to those additional entities.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States shall notify the Commission of their intention to apply all or part of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 to entities in other sectors. Such notification shall be accompanied by:
(a)
a justification of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks underpinning such intention;
(b)
an assessment of the impact that such application will have on the provision of services within the internal market;
(c)
the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 that the Member State intends to apply to those entities;
(d)
the text of the draft national measures, as well as any update thereof where the Member State has significantly altered the scope, content or implementation of those notified measures.
3. Member States shall postpone the adoption of national measures for 6 months from the date of the notification referred to in paragraph 2.
The postponement referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply in cases where the national measure aims at addressing a serious and present threat of money laundering or terrorist financing. In that case, the notification referred to in paragraph 2 shall be accompanied by a justification as to why the Member State will not postpone its adoption.
4. Before the end of the period referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission, having consulted the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 (AMLA), shall issue a detailed opinion regarding whether the measure envisaged:
(a)
is adequate to address the risks identified, in particular as regards whether the risks identified by the Member State concern the internal market;
(b)
may create obstacles to the free movement of services or capital or to the freedom of establishment of service providers within the internal market which are not proportionate to the money laundering and terrorist financing risks the measure aims to mitigate.
The detailed opinion referred to in the first subparagraph shall also indicate whether the Commission intends to propose action at Union level.
5. Where the Commission does not consider it appropriate to propose action at Union level, the Member State concerned shall, within 2 months of receiving the detailed opinion referred to in paragraph 4, report to the Commission on the action it proposes in relation thereto. The Commission shall comment on the action proposed by the Member State.
6. Where the Commission indicates its intention to propose action at Union level in accordance with paragraph 4, second subparagraph, the Member State concerned shall abstain from adopting the national measures referred to in paragraph 2, point (d), unless those national measures aim at addressing a serious and present threat of money laundering or terrorist financing.
7. Where, on 9 July 2024, Member States have already applied national provisions transposing Directive (EU) 2015/849 to other sectors than obliged entities, they may apply all or part of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 to those sectors.
By 10 January 2028, Member States shall notify the Commission of the sectors identified at national level pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph to which the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 apply, accompanied by a justification of the exposure of those sectors to money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Within 6 months of such notification, the Commission having consulted AMLA, shall issue a detailed opinion pursuant to paragraph 4. Where the Commission does not consider it appropriate to propose action at Union level, paragraph 5 shall apply.
8. By 10 July 2028 and every year thereafter, the Commission shall publish a consolidated list of the sectors to which Member States have decided to apply all or part of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Requirements relating to certain service providers
1. Member States shall ensure that currency exchange and cheque cashing offices, and trust or company service providers, are either licensed or registered.
2. Member States shall ensure that all providers of gambling services are regulated.
3. Member States shall ensure that obliged entities other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are subject to minimum registration requirements which enable supervisors to identify them.
The first subparagraph shall not apply where the obliged entities other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are subject to licensing or registration requirements under other Union legal acts, or to national rules regulating access to the profession or subjecting it to licensing or registration requirements which enable supervisors to identify them.
Requirements relating to the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment
1. Member States whose national law enables the granting of residence rights in exchange for any kind of investment, such as capital transfers, purchase or renting of property, investment in government bonds, investment in corporate entities, donation or endowment of an activity contributing to the public good and contributions to the state budget, shall put in place at least the following measures to mitigate the associated risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing:
(a)
a risk management process, including the identification, classification and mitigation of risks under the coordination of a designated authority;
(b)
measures providing for the mitigation of risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing associated with applicants for the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment including:
(i)
checks on the profile of the applicant by the designated authority, including obtaining information on the source of funds and source of wealth of the applicant;
(ii)
verification of information on applicants against information held by competent authorities as referred to in Article 2(1), point (44)(a) and (c), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 subject to the respect of the applicable national criminal procedural law and against lists of individuals and entities subject to Union restrictive measures;
(iii)
periodic reviews of medium and high-risk applicants.
2. Member States shall ensure monitoring of implementation of the risk management process as referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), including by assessing it on an annual basis.
3. Member States shall adopt and implement the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in a manner consistent with the risks identified under the risk assessment carried out pursuant to Article 8.
4. Member States shall publish an annual report on the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing associated with the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment. Those reports shall be made public and shall include the information on:
(a)
the number of received applications and of countries of origin of the applicants;
(b)
the number of residence permits granted or rejected, and the reasons for such rejections;
(c)
any evolution detected in the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing associated with the granting of residence rights in exchange for investment.
5. By 10 July 2028, Member States shall notify the Commission of the measures adopted under paragraph 1 of this Article. That notification shall include an explanation of those measures based on the relevant risk assessment carried out by Member States pursuant to Article 8.
6. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the measures notified by Member States pursuant to paragraph 5.
7. By 10 July 2030, the Commission shall publish a report assessing the measures notified pursuant to paragraph 5 in mitigating the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing and, where necessary, issue recommendations.
Checks on the senior management and beneficial owners of certain obliged entities
1. Member States shall require supervisors to verify that the members of the senior management in the obliged entities referred to in Article 4(1) and (2) as well as financial mixed activity holding companies, and the beneficial owners of such entities are of good repute, and act with honesty and integrity. Senior management of such entities shall also possess the knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions.
2. With respect to the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (3)(a), (b), (d), (e), (f) and (h) to (o), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, Member States shall ensure that supervisors take the necessary measures to prevent persons convicted of money laundering, its relevant predicate offences or terrorist financing or their associates from being professionally accredited, from holding a senior management function in or from being the beneficial owners of those obliged entities.
3. Member States shall ensure that supervisors verify, on a risk-sensitive basis, whether the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 continue to be met. In particular, they shall verify whether the senior management of obliged entities referred to in paragraph 1 is of good repute, acts with honesty and integrity and possesses knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out its functions in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering or terrorist financing is being or has been committed or attempted, or there is increased risk thereof in an obliged entity.
4. Member States shall ensure that supervisors have the power to request the removal of any person convicted of money laundering, its relevant predicate offences or terrorist financing, from the senior management of obliged entities as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. Member States shall ensure that supervisors have the power to remove or impose a temporary ban on members of the senior management of the obliged entities referred to in paragraph 1 that are not deemed to be of good repute, act with honesty and integrity or possess the knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions.
5. Member States shall ensure that supervisors have the power to disassociate persons convicted of money laundering, its relevant predicate offences or terrorist financing, who are beneficial owners of obliged entities as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, from obliged entities, including by granting supervisors the power to request the divestment of the holding by those beneficial owners in obliged entities.
6. For the purposes of this Article, Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with national law, supervisors or any other authority competent at national level for assessing the requirements applicable to persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, check the central AML/CFT database under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 and whether a relevant conviction exists in the criminal record of the person concerned. Any exchange of information for those purposes shall be carried out in accordance with Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA and Decision 2009/316/JHA as implemented in national law.
7. Member States shall ensure that decisions taken by supervisors pursuant to this Article are subject to effective remedial procedures, including judicial remedy.
8. By 10 July 2029, AMLA shall issue guidelines on:
(a)
the criteria to assess good repute, honesty and integrity as referred to in paragraph 1;
(b)
the criteria to assess knowledge and expertise as referred to in paragraph 1;
(c)
the consistent application by supervisors of the power entrusted to them under this Article.
When drawing up the guidelines referred to in the first subparagraph, AMLA shall take into account the specificities of each sector in which the obliged entities operate.
9. Member States shall apply this Article in relation to the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points 3(n) and (o) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 from 10 July 2029.
SECTION 3 — Risk assessments
Risk assessment at Union level
1. The Commission shall conduct an assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities.
2. By 10 July 2028, the Commission shall draw up a report identifying, analysing and evaluating those risks at Union level. The Commission shall update that report every 4 years thereafter. The Commission may update parts of the report more frequently, if appropriate.
Where, while updating its report, the Commission identifies new risks, it may recommend to Member States to consider updating their national risk assessments, or to carry out sectoral risk assessments, pursuant to Article 8 in order to assess those risks.
The report referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made public, except for those parts which contain classified information.
3. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover at least the following:
(a)
the areas and sectors of the internal market that are exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing risks;
(b)
the nature and level of the risks associated with each area and sector;
(c)
the most widespread means used to launder illicit proceeds, including, where available, those particularly used in transactions between Member States and third countries, independently of the identification of a third country pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
(d)
an assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with legal persons and legal arrangements, including the exposure to risks deriving from foreign legal persons and foreign legal arrangements;
(e)
the risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions.
4. The Commission shall make recommendations to Member States on the measures suitable for addressing the identified risks. In the event that Member States decide not to apply any of the recommendations in their national AML/CFT regimes, they shall notify the Commission thereof and provide a detailed justification stating their reasons for such a decision.
5. By 10 July 2030 and every 2 years thereafter, AMLA, in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, shall issue an opinion addressed to the Commission on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the Union. AMLA may issue opinions or updates of its previous opinions more frequently, where it deems it appropriate to do so. The opinions issued by AMLA shall be made public, except for those parts which contain classified information.
6. In conducting the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall organise the work at Union level, shall take into account the opinions referred to in paragraph 5 and shall involve Member States’ experts in the area of AML/CFT, representatives from national supervisory authorities and FIUs, AMLA and other Union level bodies, and, where appropriate, other relevant stakeholders.
7. Within 2 years of the adoption of the report referred to in paragraph 2, and every 4 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the actions taken based on the findings of that report.
National risk assessment
1. Each Member State shall carry out a national risk assessment to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and the risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions affecting it. It shall keep that risk assessment up to date and review it at least every 4 years.
Where Member States consider that the risk situation so requires, they may review the national risk assessment more frequently or conduct ad hoc sectoral risk assessments.
2. Each Member State shall designate an authority or establish a mechanism to coordinate the national response to the risks referred to in paragraph 1. The identity of that authority or the description of the mechanism shall be notified to the Commission. The Commission shall publish the list of the designated authorities or established mechanisms in the Official Journal of the European Union.
3. In carrying out the national risk assessments referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall take into account the report referred to in Article 7(2), including sectors and products covered and the findings of that report.
4. Member States shall use the national risk assessment to:
(a)
improve their AML/CFT regimes, in particular by identifying any areas where obliged entities are to apply enhanced measures in line with a risk-based approach and, where appropriate, specifying the measures to be taken;
(b)
identify, where appropriate, sectors or areas of lower or greater risk of money laundering and terrorist financing;
(c)
assess the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with each type of legal person established in their territory and each type of legal arrangement which is governed under national law, or which is administered in their territory or whose trustees or persons holding equivalent positions in similar legal arrangements reside in their territory; and have an understanding of the exposure to risks deriving from foreign legal persons and foreign legal arrangements;
(d)
decide on the allocation and prioritisation of resources to combat money laundering and terrorist financing as well as non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions;
(e)
ensure that appropriate rules are drawn up for each sector or area, in accordance with the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing;
(f)
make appropriate information available promptly to competent authorities and to obliged entities to facilitate the carrying out of their own money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments as well as the assessment of risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions referred to in Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
In the national risk assessment, Member States shall describe the institutional structure and broad procedures of their AML/CFT regime, including the FIU, tax authorities and prosecutors, the mechanisms for cooperation with counterparts within the Union or in third countries, as well as the allocated human and financial resources to the extent that this information is available.
5. Member States shall ensure appropriate participation of competent authorities and relevant stakeholders when carrying out their national risk assessment.
6. Member States shall make the results of their national risk assessments, including updates and reviews, available to the Commission, to AMLA and to the other Member States. A Member State may provide relevant additional information, where appropriate, to the Member State carrying out the national risk assessment. A summary of the findings of the assessment shall be made public. That summary shall not contain classified information. Any document disseminated or made public pursuant to this paragraph shall not contain any information permitting the identification of any natural person or name any legal person.
Statistics
1. Member States shall maintain comprehensive statistics on matters relevant to the effectiveness of their AML/CFT frameworks in order to review the effectiveness of those frameworks.
2. The statistics referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall include:
(a)
data measuring the size and importance of the different sectors which fall within the scope of this Directive, including the number of natural and legal persons and the economic importance of each sector;
(b)
data measuring the reporting, investigation and judicial phases of the national AML/CFT regime, including the number of suspicious transaction reports made to the FIU, the follow-up given to those reports, the information on cross-border physical transfers of cash transmitted to the FIU in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 together with the follow-up given to the information submitted and, on an annual basis, the number of cases investigated, the number of persons prosecuted, the number of persons convicted for money laundering or terrorist financing offences, the types of predicate offences identified in accordance with Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 38 ) where such information is available, and the value in euro of property that has been frozen, seized or confiscated;
(c)
the number and percentage of suspicious transaction reports resulting in dissemination to other competent authorities and, if available, the number and percentage of reports resulting in further investigation, together with the annual report drawn up by FIUs pursuant to Article 27;
(d)
data regarding the number of cross-border requests for information that were made, received, refused and partially or fully answered by the FIU, broken down by counterpart country;
(e)
the number of mutual legal assistance or other international requests for information relating to beneficial ownership and bank account information as referred to in Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter II of this Directive received from or made to counterparts outside the Union, broken down by competent authority and counterpart country;
(f)
human resources allocated to supervisors as well as human resources allocated to the FIU to fulfil the tasks specified in Article 19;
(g)
the number of on-site and off-site supervisory actions, the number of breaches identified on the basis of supervisory actions and pecuniary sanctions and periodic penalty payments imposed or administrative measures applied by supervisory authorities and self-regulatory bodies pursuant to Section 4 of Chapter IV;
(h)
the number and type of breaches identified in relation to the obligations of Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and pecuniary sanctions imposed or administrative measures applied in relation to those breaches, the number of discrepancies reported to the central register referred to in Article 10 of this Directive, as well as the number of checks carried out by the entity in charge of the central register or on its behalf pursuant to Article 10(11) of this Directive;
(i)
the following information regarding the implementation of Article 12:
(i)
the number of requests to access beneficial ownership information in central registers on the basis of the categories laid down in Article 12(2);
(ii)
the percentage of requests for access to information which is refused under each category laid down in Article 12(2);
(iii)
a summary of the categories of persons granted access to beneficial ownership information under Article 12(2), second subparagraph;
(j)
the number of searches of bank account registers or data retrieval mechanisms made by competent authorities, broken down by category of competent authority, and the number of searches of the interconnection of bank account registers made by FIUs and supervisory authorities;
(k)
the following data regarding implementation of targeted financial sanctions:
(i)
the value of funds or other assets frozen, broken down by type;
(ii)
human resources allocated to authorities competent for implementation and enforcement of targeted financial sanctions.
3. Member States shall ensure that the statistics referred to in paragraph 2 are collected and transmitted to the Commission on an annual basis. The statistics referred to in paragraph 2, points (a), (c), (d) and (f), shall also be transmitted to AMLA.
AMLA shall store those statistics in its database in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
4. By 10 July 2029, AMLA shall adopt an opinion addressed to the Commission on the methodology for the collection of the statistics referred to in paragraph 2, points (a), (c), (d), (f) and (g).
5. The Commission may lay down, by means of implementing acts, the methodology for the collection of the statistics referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the arrangements for their transmission to the Commission and to AMLA. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 72(2).
6. By 10 July 2030 and every 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall publish a report summarising and explaining the statistics referred to in paragraph 2, and make it available on its website.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
