AMLAAnti-Money Laundering Authority
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) is the EU's central AML/CFT authority, based in Frankfurt am Main. Established in June 2024 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, it began operating in 2025 and will directly supervise selected high-risk cross-border financial institutions, which can include crypto-asset service providers, from 2028. AMLA also coordinates national supervisors and financial intelligence units, drafts technical standards and issues guidelines, and helps settle disagreements between national supervisors.
Why it matters
AMLA was created to close gaps exposed by cross-border money laundering cases, where fragmented national supervision allowed risks to go unchecked. It took over the European Banking Authority's AML/CFT mandate on 1 January 2026, and existing EBA guidelines and standards remain in force until AMLA replaces them.
During 2027, AMLA will select 40 financial institutions or groups for direct supervision, drawn from those operating in at least six member states and assessed on their risk profile. Selected entities will be supervised by joint teams of AMLA and national staff from 2028. All other obliged entities remain with national supervisors, which AMLA oversees indirectly.
For compliance teams, AMLA's technical standards on customer due diligence, risk assessment and reporting will define the detailed expectations behind the AML Regulation, so programs built today should be designed to meet them.
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