In an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, AMLA Chair Bruna Szego described how the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism will use a single risk analysis model and a March data collection exercise to prepare for direct supervision of 40 financial institutions from 2028, as the EU shifts from 27 national AML/CFT approaches to a more uniform framework. The risk analysis model is intended to be “unique” but with different indicators and weightings, reflecting distinctions between money laundering and terrorist financing, including the need to detect small-value patterns and connections relevant to terrorist financing. AMLA’s remit spans financial and non-financial sectors, with the financial perimeter including banks, insurers, fund and asset managers, agents and brokers, crowdfunding platforms, and crypto-asset service providers, while the non-financial perimeter includes professions such as lawyers, notaries, accountants, auditors, real estate agents, and higher-risk businesses such as jewelers and gold dealers, art markets, and casinos, with soccer clubs and agents to be added in the future; AMLA’s role in the non-financial sector is to guide national supervisors rather than supervise entities directly. Preparation for 2028 direct supervision includes testing and validating selection models, with banks and other financial institutions asked to provide specific data in March; the directly supervised population will be drawn from institutions operating in at least six EU Member States and assessed as high risk for money laundering and terrorist financing, which may include crypto-asset service providers. Szego also set out operational milestones, including scaling headcount from 120 staff to 240 by end-2026 and 432 by end-2027, producing about 40 regulatory products, designing indirect supervision for the wider financial sector, and beginning coordination and support for national Financial Intelligence Units, alongside the development of a Single Rulebook through an EU regulation, secondary legislation by the European Commission and AMLA, and AMLA supervisory guidelines.
Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism 2026-02-17
European Union's Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism sets out March data collection to select 40 firms for direct supervision in 2028
AMLA Chair Bruna Szego outlined plans for the Authority to implement a single risk analysis model and conduct a data collection exercise in March to prepare for direct supervision of 40 financial institutions by 2028. The model will differentiate between money laundering and terrorist financing, covering both financial and non-financial sectors. Milestones include increasing staff to 432 by 2027, producing regulatory products, and developing a Single Rulebook through EU regulation and AMLA guidelines.