Establishment of the FIU
1. Each Member State shall establish an FIU in order to prevent, detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
2. The FIU shall be the single central national unit responsible for receiving and analysing reports submitted by obliged entities in accordance with Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, reports submitted by obliged entities in accordance with Article 74 and Article 80(4), second subparagraph, of that Regulation, and any other information relevant to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing, including information transmitted by customs authorities pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672, as well as information submitted by supervisory authorities or by other authorities.
3. The FIU shall be responsible for disseminating the results of its analyses and any additional information to relevant competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. It shall be able to obtain additional information from obliged entities.
The FIU’s financial analysis function shall consist of the following:
(a)
an operational analysis which focuses on individual cases and specific targets or on appropriate selected information, prioritised on the basis of risk, the type and volume of the disclosures received and the expected use of the information after dissemination;
(b)
a strategic analysis addressing money laundering and terrorist financing trends and patterns and evolutions thereof.
4. Each FIU shall be operationally independent and autonomous, which means that it shall have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and, in accordance with paragraph 3, disseminate specific information. It shall be free from any undue political, government or industry influence or interference.
When an FIU is located within the existing structure of another authority, the FIU’s core functions shall be independent and operationally separated from the other functions of the host authority.
5. Member States shall provide their FIUs with adequate financial, human and technical resources in order to fulfil their tasks. FIUs shall be able to obtain and deploy the resources needed to carry out their functions.
6. Member States shall ensure that the staff of their FIUs are bound by professional secrecy requirements equivalent to those laid down in Article 67, and that they maintain high professional standards, including high standards of data protection, and are of high integrity and appropriately skilled in relation to the ethical handling of big data sets. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have in place procedures to prevent and manage conflicts of interest.
7. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have rules in place governing the security and confidentiality of information.
8. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have in place secure and protected channels for communicating and exchanging information by electronic means with competent authorities and obliged entities.
9. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to make arrangements with other domestic competent authorities pursuant to Article 46 on the exchange of information.
10. By 10 July 2028, AMLA shall issue guidelines addressed to FIUs on:
(a)
the measures to be put in place to preserve the operational autonomy and independence of the FIU, including measures to prevent that conflicts of interest affect its operational autonomy and independence;
(b)
the nature, features and objectives of operational and of strategic analysis;
(c)
tools and methods for use and cross-check of financial, administrative and law enforcement information to which FIUs have access; and
(d)
practices and procedures for the exercise of the suspension or the withholding of consent to a transaction and suspension or monitoring of an account or business relationship pursuant to Articles 24 and 25.
Fundamental Rights Officer
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs designate a Fundamental Rights Officer. The Fundamental Rights Officer may be a member of the existing staff of the FIU.
2. The Fundamental Rights Officer shall perform the following tasks:
(a)
advise the staff of the FIU on any activity carried out by the FIU where the Fundamental Rights Officer deems it necessary, or where requested by the staff, without impeding or delaying those activities;
(b)
promote and monitor the FIU’s compliance with fundamental rights;
(c)
provide non-binding opinions on the compliance of FIU’s activities with fundamental rights;
(d)
inform the head of the FIU about possible violations of fundamental rights in the course of the FIU’s activities.
3. The FIU shall ensure that the Fundamental Rights Officer does not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of the Fundamental Rights Officer’s tasks.
Access to information
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs, regardless of their organisational status, have access to the information that they require to fulfil their tasks, including financial, administrative and law enforcement information. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have at least:
(a)
immediate and direct access to the following financial information:
(i)
information contained in the national centralised automated mechanisms in accordance with Article 16;
(ii)
information from obliged entities, including information on transfers of funds as defined in Article 3, point (9), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 and transfers of crypto-assets as defined in Article 3, point (10), of that Regulation;
(iii)
information on mortgages and loans;
(iv)
information contained in the national currency and currency exchange databases;
(v)
information on securities;
(b)
immediate and direct access to the following administrative information:
(i)
fiscal data, including data held by tax and revenue authorities as well as data obtained pursuant to Article 8(3a) of Council Directive 2011/16/EU ( 40 ) ;
(ii)
information on public procurement procedures for goods or services, or concessions;
(iii)
information from BARIS as referred to in Article 16, as well as from national real estate registers or electronic data retrieval systems and land and cadastral registers;
(iv)
information contained in national citizenship and population registers of natural persons;
(v)
information contained in national passports and visas registers;
(vi)
information contained in cross-border travel databases;
(vii)
information contained in commercial databases, including business and company registers and databases of politically exposed persons;
(viii)
information contained in national motor vehicles, aircraft and watercraft registers;
(ix)
information contained in national social security registers;
(x)
customs data, including cross-border physical transfers of cash;
(xi)
information contained in national weapons and arms registers;
(xii)
information contained in national beneficial ownership registers;
(xiii)
data available through the interconnection of central registers in accordance with Article 10(19);
(xiv)
information contained in registers of non-profit organisations;
(xv)
information held by national financial supervisors and regulators, in accordance with Article 61 and Article 67(2);
(xvi)
databases storing data on CO2 emission trading established pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 ( 41 ) ;
(xvii)
information on annual financial statements by companies;
(xviii)
national migration and immigration registers;
(xix)
information held by commercial courts;
(xx)
information held in insolvency databases and by insolvency practitioners;
(xxi)
information on funds and other assets frozen or immobilised pursuant to targeted financial sanctions;
(c)
direct or indirect access to the following law enforcement information:
(i)
any type of information or data which is already held by competent authorities in the context of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal offences;
(ii)
any type of information or data which is held by public authorities or by private entities in the context of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal offences and which is available to competent authorities without the taking of coercive measures under national law.
The information referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph shall include criminal records, information on investigations, information on the freezing or seizure of assets, or on other investigative or provisional measures and information on convictions and on confiscations.
Member States may allow the restriction of access to the law enforcement information referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph on a case-by-case basis, where the provision of such information is likely to jeopardise an ongoing investigation.
2. Access to the information listed in paragraph 1 shall be considered direct and immediate where the information is contained in an IT database, register or data retrieval system from which the FIU can retrieve the information without any intermediate steps, or where the following conditions are met:
(a)
the entities or authorities holding the information provide it expeditiously to FIUs; and
(b)
no entity, authority or third party is able to interfere with the requested data or the information to be provided.
3. Member States shall ensure that, whenever possible, the FIU is granted direct access to the information listed in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (c). In cases where FIU is provided with indirect access to information, the entity or authority holding the requested information shall provide it in a timely manner.
4. In the context of its functions, each FIU shall be able to request, obtain and use information from any obliged entity to perform its functions pursuant to Article 19(3) of this Directive, even if no prior report is filed pursuant to Article 69(1), the first subparagraph, point (a), or Article 70(1), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. Obliged entities shall not be obliged to comply with requests for information made pursuant to this paragraph when they concern information obtained in the situations referred to in Article 70(2) of that Regulation.
Responses to requests for information
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to respond in a timely manner to reasoned requests for information justified by concerns relating to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing by the competent authorities referred to in Article 2(1), points (44)(c) and (d), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 in their respective Member State where that information is already held by the FIU and is necessary on a case-by-case basis. The decision on conducting the dissemination of information shall remain with the FIU.
Where there are objective grounds for assuming that the provision of such information would have a negative impact on ongoing investigations or analyses, or, in exceptional circumstances, where disclosure of the information would be clearly disproportionate to the legitimate interests of a natural or legal person or irrelevant with regard to the purposes for which it has been requested, the FIU shall not be obliged to comply with the request for information.
In such cases, the FIU shall provide the reasons in writing to the requesting authority.
2. Competent authorities shall provide feedback to the FIU about the use made of, and the usefulness of, the information provided in accordance with this Article and Article 19(3), and about the outcome of actions taken and of investigations performed on the basis of that information. Such feedback shall be provided as soon as possible and in any case, in an aggregated form, at least on an annual basis, in such a way as to allow the FIU to improve its operational analysis function.
Provision of information to supervisors
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs provide supervisors, spontaneously or upon request, information that may be relevant for the purposes of supervision pursuant to Chapter IV, including at least information on:
(a)
the quality and quantity of suspicious transaction reports submitted by obliged entities;
(b)
the quality and timeliness of responses provided by obliged entities to FIU requests pursuant to Article 69(1), the first subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
(c)
relevant results of strategic analyses carried out pursuant to Article 19(3), point (b), of this Directive, as well as any relevant information on money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing trends and methods, including geographical, cross-border and emerging risks.
2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs notify supervisors whenever information in their possession indicates potential breaches by obliged entities of Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113.
3. Except where strictly necessary for the purposes of paragraph 2, Member States shall ensure that information provided by FIUs pursuant to this Article does not contain any information on specific natural or legal persons nor cases including natural or legal persons subject to an ongoing analysis or investigation or which may lead to the identification of natural or legal persons.
Suspension or withholding of consent
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, to suspend or withhold consent to that transaction.
Member States shall ensure that, where the need to suspend or withhold consent to a transaction is established on the basis of a suspicion reported pursuant to Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, the suspension or withholding of consent is imposed on the obliged entity within the period referred to in Article 71 of that Regulation. Where the need to suspend a transaction is based on the analytical work of the FIU, regardless of whether a prior report has been filed by the obliged entity, the suspension shall be imposed as soon as possible by the FIU.
The suspension or withholding of consent to a transaction shall be imposed by the FIU in order to preserve the funds, to perform its analyses, including the analysis of the transaction, to assess whether the suspicion is confirmed and if so, to disseminate the results of the analyses to the relevant competent authorities to allow for the adoption of appropriate measures.
Member States shall lay down the period of suspension or withholding of consent applicable for the FIUs analytical work which shall not exceed 10 working days. Member States may lay down a longer period where, pursuant to national law, FIUs perform the function of tracing, seizing, freezing or confiscating criminal assets. Where a longer period of suspension or withholding of consent is laid down, Member States shall ensure that FIUs exercise their function subject to appropriate national safeguards, such as the possibility for the person whose transaction has been suspended to challenge that suspension before a court.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to lift the suspension or withholding of consent at any time where they conclude that the suspension or withholding of consent is no longer necessary to fulfil objectives set out in the third subparagraph.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to suspend or withhold consent as referred to in this paragraph at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
2. Where there is a suspicion that a bank account or payment account, a crypto-asset account or a business relationship is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, Member States shall ensure that the FIU is empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, to suspend the use of that account or to suspend the business relationship in order to preserve the funds, to perform its analyses, to assess whether the suspicion is confirmed and if so, to disseminate the results of the analyses to the relevant competent authorities to allow for the adoption of appropriate measures.
Member States shall lay down the period of suspension applicable for the FIUs analytical work which shall not exceed 5 working days. Member States may lay down a longer period where, pursuant to national law, FIUs perform the function of tracing, seizing, freezing or confiscating criminal assets. Where a longer period of suspension is laid down, Member States shall ensure that FIUs exercise their function subject to appropriate national safeguards, such as the possibility for the person whose bank account or payment account, crypto-asset account or business relationship is suspended to challenge that suspension before a court.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to lift the suspension at any time where they conclude that the suspension is no longer necessary to fulfil objectives set out in the first subparagraph.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to suspend the use of an account or suspend a business relationship as referred to in this paragraph at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
3. The imposition of a suspension or the withholding of consent in accordance with this Article shall not attach liability of any kind to the FIU or its directors or employees.
Instructions to monitor transactions or activities
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to instruct obliged entities to monitor, for a period to be specified by the FIU, the transactions or activities that are being carried out through one or more bank accounts or payment accounts or crypto-asset accounts or other business relationships managed by the obliged entity for persons who present a significant risk of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. Member States shall also ensure that FIUs are empowered to instruct the obliged entity to report on the results of the monitoring.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to impose monitoring measures as referred to in this Article at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
Alerts to obliged entities
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to alert obliged entities of information relevant for the performance of customer due diligence pursuant to Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. That information shall include:
(a)
types of transactions or activities that present a significant risk of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing;
(b)
specific persons that present a significant risk of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing;
(c)
specific geographic areas that present a significant risk of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing.
2. The requirement referred in paragraph 1 shall apply for a period laid down in national law, which shall not exceed 6 months.
3. FIUs shall provide obliged entities with strategic information about typologies, risk indicators and trends in money laundering and terrorist financing on an annual basis.
FIU annual report
Each Member State shall ensure that its FIU publishes an annual report on its activities. The report shall contain statistics on:
(a)
the follow up given by the FIU to suspicious transaction and activity reports it has received;
(b)
suspicious transaction reports submitted by obliged entities;
(c)
disclosures by supervisors and central registers;
(d)
disseminations to competent authorities and follow-up given to those disseminations;
(e)
requests submitted to and received from other FIUs;
(f)
requests submitted to and received from competent authorities referred to in Article 2(1), point (44)(c), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624;
(g)
human resources allocated;
(h)
data on cross-border physical transfers of cash transmitted by customs authorities pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672.
The report referred to in the first paragraph shall also contain information on the trends and typologies identified in the files disseminated to other competent authorities. The information contained in the report shall not permit the identification of any natural or legal person.
Feedback by FIU
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs provide obliged entities with feedback on the reporting of suspicions pursuant to Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. Such feedback shall cover at least the quality of the information provided, the timeliness of reporting, the description of the suspicion and the documentation provided at submission stage.
Feedback pursuant to this Article shall not be understood as encompassing each report submitted by obliged entities.
The FIU shall provide feedback at least once per year, whether provided to the individual obliged entity or to groups or categories of obliged entities, taking into consideration the overall number of suspicious transactions reported by the obliged entities.
Feedback shall also be made available to supervisors to allow them to perform risk-based supervision in accordance with Article 40.
FIUs shall report on an annual basis to AMLA on the provision of feedback to obliged entities pursuant to this Article, and shall provide statistics on the number of suspicious transaction reports submitted by the categories of obliged entities.
By 10 July 2028, AMLA shall issue recommendations to FIUs on best practices and approaches towards the provision of feedback, including on the type and frequency of feedback.
The obligation to provide feedback shall not jeopardise any ongoing analytical work carried out by the FIU or any investigation or administrative action subsequent to the dissemination by the FIU, and shall not affect the applicability of data protection and confidentiality requirements.
2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs provide customs authorities with feedback, at least on an annual basis, on the effectiveness of and follow-up to the information transmitted pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672.
Cooperation between FIUs
Member States shall ensure that FIUs cooperate with each other to the greatest extent possible, regardless of their organisational status.
Protected channels of communication
1. A system for the exchange of information between FIUs of Member States (FIU.net) shall be set up. FIU.net shall ensure the secure communication and exchange of information and shall be capable of producing a written record of all processing activities. FIU.net may also be used for communications with FIUs’ counterparts in third countries and with other authorities and with Union bodies, offices and agencies. FIU.net shall be managed by AMLA.
FIU.net shall be used for the exchange of information between FIUs and AMLA for the purposes of joint analyses pursuant to Article 32 of this Directive and Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs exchange information pursuant to Article 31 and 32 using FIU.net. In the event of a technical failure of FIU.net, the information shall be transmitted by any other appropriate means ensuring a high level of data security and data protection.
Exchanges of information between FIUs and their counterparts in third countries that are not connected to FIU.net shall take place through protected channels of communication.
3. Member States shall ensure that, in order to fulfil their tasks as laid down in this Directive, FIUs cooperate to the greatest extent possible in the application of state-of-the-art technologies in accordance with their national law.
Member States shall also ensure that FIUs cooperate to the greatest extent possible in the application of solutions developed and managed by AMLA in accordance with Article 5(5), point (i), Article 45(1), point (d), and Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
4. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to use the functionalities of the FIU.net to cross-match, on a hit/no-hit basis, the data they make available on FIU.net, with the data made available on that system by other FIUs and Union bodies, offices and agencies insofar as such cross-matching falls within the respective mandates of those Union bodies, offices and agencies.
5. AMLA may suspend the access of an FIU or counterpart in a third country or Union body, office or agency to FIU.net where it has grounds to believe that such access would jeopardise the implementation of this Chapter and the security and confidentiality of the information held by FIUs and exchanged through FIU.net, including where there are concerns in relation to an FIU’s independence and autonomy.
Exchange of information between FIUs
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs exchange, spontaneously or upon request, any information that may be relevant for the processing or analysis of information by the FIU related to money laundering, its predicate offences, or terrorist financing, and the natural or legal person involved, regardless of the type of predicate offences that may be involved, and even if the type of predicate offences that may be involved is not identified at the time of the exchange.
A request shall contain the relevant facts, background information, reasons for the request, links with the country of the requested FIU and how the information sought will be used.
When an FIU receives a report pursuant to Article 69(1), the first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 which concerns another Member State, it shall promptly forward the report, or all the relevant information obtained from it, to the FIU of that other Member State.
2. By 10 July 2026, AMLA shall develop draft implementing technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft implementing technical standards shall specify the format to be used for the exchange of the information referred to in paragraph 1.
Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
3. By 10 July 2026, AMLA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall specify the relevance and selection criteria when determining whether a report submitted pursuant to Article 69(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 concerns another Member State as referred to in paragraph 1, third subparagraph, of this Article.
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Directive by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 49 to 52 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
4. By 10 July 2028, AMLA shall issue guidelines addressed to FIUs on the procedures to be put in place when forwarding and receiving a report pursuant to Article 69(1), the first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 which concerns another Member State, and the follow-up to be given to that report.
5. Member States shall ensure that the FIU to whom the request is made is required to use the whole range of its available powers which it would normally use domestically for receiving and analysing information when it replies to a request for information referred to in paragraph 1 from another FIU.
When an FIU seeks to obtain additional information from an obliged entity established in another Member State which operates on the territory of its Member State, the request shall be addressed to the FIU of the Member State in whose territory the obliged entity is established. That FIU shall obtain information in accordance with Article 69(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 and transfer the answers promptly.
6. Member States shall ensure that where an FIU is requested to provide information pursuant to paragraph 1, it shall respond to the request as soon as possible and in any case no later than 5 working days after the receipt of the request if the FIU is either in possession of the requested information or the requested information is held in a database or register which is directly accessible by the requested FIU. In exceptional, duly justified cases, this deadline may be extended to a maximum of 10 working days. Where the requested FIU is unable to obtain the requested information, it shall inform the requesting FIU thereof.
7. Member States shall ensure that in exceptional, justified and urgent cases and, by way of derogation from paragraph 6, where pursuant to paragraph 1 an FIU is requested to provide information which is either held in a database or registry directly accessible by the requested FIU or which is already in its possession, the requested FIU shall provide that information no later than 1 working day after the receipt of the request.
If the requested FIU is unable to respond within 1 working day or cannot access the information directly, it shall provide a justification. Where the provision of the information requested within 1 working day would put a disproportionate burden on the requested FIU, it may postpone the provision of the information. In that case, the requested FIU shall immediately inform the requesting FIU of such postponement. The requested FIU may extend to a maximum of 3 working days the deadline to reply to a request for information.
8. An FIU may refuse to exchange information only in exceptional circumstances where the exchange could be contrary to fundamental principles of its national law. Those exceptional circumstances shall be specified in a way which prevents misuse of, and undue limitations on, the free exchange of information for analytical purposes.
By 10 July 2028, Member States shall notify to the Commission the exceptional circumstances referred to in the first subparagraph. Member States shall update such notifications where changes to the exceptional circumstances identified at national level occur.
The Commission shall publish the consolidated list of notifications referred to in the second subparagraph.
9. By 10 July 2029, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council assessing whether the exceptional circumstances notified pursuant to paragraph 8 are justified.
Joint analyses
1. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs are able to carry out joint analyses of suspicious transactions and activities.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, the relevant FIUs, assisted by AMLA in accordance with Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, shall set up a joint analysis team for a specific purpose and limited period, which may be extended by mutual consent, to carry out operational analyses of suspicious transactions or activities involving one or more of the FIUs setting up the team.
3. A joint analysis team may be set up where:
(a)
an FIU’s operational analyses require difficult and demanding analyses with links to other Member States;
(b)
a number of FIUs are conducting operational analyses in which the circumstances of the case justify concerted action in the Member States involved.
A request for the setting up of a joint analysis team may be made by any of the FIUs concerned or AMLA pursuant to Article 44 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620.
4. Member States shall ensure that the staff member of their FIU allocated to the joint analysis team is able, in accordance with the applicable national law and within the limits of the staff member’s competence, to provide the team with information available to its FIU for the purpose of the analysis conducted by the team.
5. Where the joint analysis team needs assistance from a FIU other than those which are part of the team, it might request that other FIU to:
(a)
join the joint analysis team;
(b)
submit financial intelligence and financial information to the joint analysis team.
6. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to invite third parties, including Union bodies, offices and agencies, to take part in the joint analyses where relevant for the purposes of the joint analyses and where such participation falls within the respective mandates of those third parties.
Member States shall ensure that the FIUs participating in the joint analyses determine the conditions that apply in relation to the participation of third parties and put in place measures guaranteeing the confidentiality and security of the information exchanged. Member States shall ensure that the information exchanged is used solely for the purposes for which that joint analysis was set up.
Use by FIUs of information exchanged between them
Information and documents received pursuant to Articles 29, 31 and 32 shall be used for the accomplishment of the FIU’s tasks as laid down in this Directive. When exchanging information and documents pursuant to Articles 29 and 31, the transmitting FIU may impose restrictions and conditions for the use of that information, except where the transmission consists of a report submitted by an obliged entity pursuant to Article 69(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, or information derived therefrom, which concerns another Member State where the obliged entity operates through the freedom to provide services and which includes no link to the Member State of the transmitting FIU. The receiving FIU shall comply with those restrictions and conditions.
Member States shall ensure that FIUs designate at least one contact person or point to be responsible for receiving requests for information from FIUs in other Member States.
Consent to further dissemination of information exchanged between FIUs
1. Member States shall ensure that the information exchanged pursuant to Articles 29, 31 and 32 is used only for the purpose for which it was sought or provided and that any dissemination of that information by the receiving FIU to any other authority, agency or department, or any use of this information for purposes other than those originally approved, is made subject to the prior consent by the FIU providing the information.
The requirements of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply where the information provided by the FIU consists of a report submitted by an obliged entity pursuant to Article 69(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 which concerns another Member State where the obliged entity operates through the freedom to provide services and which has no link to the Member State of the FIU providing the information.
2. Member States shall ensure that the requested FIU’s prior consent to disseminate the information to competent authorities is granted promptly and to the largest extent possible, regardless of the type of predicate offences and whether or not the predicate offence has been identified. The requested FIU shall not refuse its consent to such dissemination unless this would fall beyond the scope of application of its AML/CFT provisions or could lead to impairment of an investigation, or would otherwise not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law of that Member State. Any such refusal to grant consent shall be appropriately explained. The cases where FIUs may refuse to grant consent shall be specified in a way which prevents misuse of, and undue limitations to, the dissemination of information to competent authorities.
3. By 10 July 2028, Member States shall notify to the Commission the exceptional circumstances in which dissemination would not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law referred to in paragraph 2. Member States shall update such notifications where changes to the exceptional circumstances identified at national level occur.
The Commission shall publish the consolidated list of notifications referred to in the first subparagraph.
4. By 10 July 2029, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council assessing whether the exceptional circumstances notified pursuant to paragraph 3 are justified.
Effect of criminal law provisions
Differences between national law definitions of predicate offences shall not impede the ability of FIUs to provide assistance to another FIU and shall not limit the exchange, dissemination and use of information pursuant to Articles 31, 32, 33 and 34.
Confidentiality of reporting
1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have in place mechanisms to protect the identity of the obliged entities and their employees, or persons in an equivalent position, including agents and distributors, who report suspicions pursuant to Article 69(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624.
2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs do not disclose the source of the report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, when responding to requests for information by competent authorities pursuant to Article 22 or when disseminating the results of their analyses pursuant to Article 19. This paragraph is without prejudice to the applicable national criminal procedural law.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
