Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive

In June, a new directive was published on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. This Directive stems from the legislative package presented by the European Commission in 2021; these legislative initiatives included drafts of the present Directive as well as the new European Regulation on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

The previous Directive — Directive 2015/849 — has been a fundamental regulatory framework for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. However, the European legislator has seen fit to amend and repeal this Directive to make way for a regulation that “has the resilience and capacity needed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.”

As general provisions, the Directive establishes that the European Commission will prepare a report identifying risks at the Union level. This report will be updated every four years, with the first one to be published before July 2028. Member States may extend the application of preventive regulations to sectors not covered by European legislation. To do so, they must notify the Commission, which will consult the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority to assess the suitability of such an extension. A formal opinion will then be issued on the matter.

The Directive also places special emphasis on central registers for beneficial ownership and bank accounts — financial ownership file. Regarding the beneficial ownership registers, in addition to requiring proper functioning and data inclusion, the new Directive adapts to the judgment issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union in November 2022 concerning access to beneficial ownership registers. Specific rules on access to these registers for persons with a legitimate interest are established.

The provisions on beneficial ownership registers have a shorter transposition period: compliance is required before July 10, 2026, for matters related to register access, and before July 10, 2025, for a specific aspect of access to information by Financial Intelligence Units. A longer transposition period — until July 10, 2029 — is set for the creation of a Single Access Point to real estate information.

Another aspect addressed by the Directive concerns Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The law establishes a framework for defining and outlining the responsibilities of these authorities, aiming to prevent divergences among Member States. Additionally, the role of a Fundamental Rights Officer is created. This new figure will collaborate with FIUs to ensure respect for fundamental rights. Their duties include:

• advising FIU staff on fundamental rights issues;
• promoting and overseeing fundamental rights within the FIU;
• issuing non-binding opinions on FIU activities and their impact on fundamental rights;
• informing FIU management of potential breaches of fundamental rights.

The Directive also promotes cooperation between the different FIUs in Member States. To facilitate this, a secure communication channel will be established between them, in which third-country FIUs and Union bodies may also participate. This tool will be managed by the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority.

Lastly, one of the key elements in the new Directive is the role of the supervisor. The regulation requires Member States to appoint one or more supervisors to “effectively monitor and take necessary measures to ensure that obligated entities comply” with the new European anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.

To achieve this, the previous Directive will be fully repealed, although the repeal will not take effect until July 2027, aligning with the maximum transposition period for Member States. However, as mentioned earlier, a limited number of articles have different transposition deadlines.