The EU is planning to create a new anti-money laundering watchdog in the wake of several bank scandals before the pandemic.
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), a new EU agency, will be the “centrepiece” of an updated regulatory system involving also national authorities, the European Commission said in a draft proposal, seen by the Reuters news agency.
The AMLA is to make operational decisions on risky companies. It would also keep an eye on national regulators to make sure they do their job. The proposal said EU states will have to harmonise anti-money laundering laws for the project to work.
The European Banking Authority (EBA), an EU regulator in Paris, already has an anti-money laundering unit, but this amounts to just 10 or so officials with no real authority and the proposed AMLA would take over the EBA’s functions in this area.
The draft document is yet to be published after final tweaks and the AMLA is due to be up and running by 2026, if member states agree.
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Source: reuters.com