AMLA is the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. It is the EU body at the centre of the new AML framework.
Most obliged entities will never be supervised by AMLA directly. But AMLA writes much of the detailed rulebook that sits alongside the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR). This article explains what AMLA is, what it does and what it means for you, with a Swedish angle where it matters.
What is AMLA's legal basis?
AMLA was established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. It is often called the AMLA Regulation, or AMLAR.
Key points from the Regulation:
- AMLA is a Union body with legal personality (Article 3).
- Its seat is in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Article 4).
- The Regulation applies from 1 July 2025. Some articles, including those on the seat and on technical standards, have applied since 26 June 2024 (Article 108).
The Regulation was published in the Official Journal on 19 June 2024. According to AMLA, it has had a legal existence since 26 June 2024. The Regulation has since been amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2088.
The AMLA Regulation is part of the EU AML package, together with AMLR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, and the sixth AML Directive, (EU) 2024/1640. In Sweden, the Swedish AML Act (2017:630) applies today. From 10 July 2027, AMLR applies directly. See AMLR 2027: what changes in customer due diligence?
What does AMLA do?
Article 5 of the AMLA Regulation lists AMLA's tasks, grouped by who or what they concern.
| Area | Examples of tasks | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Risks in the internal market | Monitor developments, assess threats and vulnerabilities, run a central AML/CFT database | 5(1) |
| Selected obliged entities | Direct supervision: review internal policies, procedures and controls, apply measures and sanctions | 5(2) |
| Financial supervisors | Assess their resources and powers, promote convergence, settle disagreements between them | 5(3) |
| Non-financial supervisors | Coordinate peer reviews, investigate potential breaches of Union law, issue recommendations | 5(4) |
| Financial Intelligence Units | Support cooperation, coordinate joint analyses, host FIU.net | 5(5) |
On top of this comes rule-making. AMLA develops draft regulatory technical standards (Article 49) and issues guidelines and recommendations (Article 54). AMLA describes this task as complementing EU AML/CFT rules.
Which firms will AMLA supervise directly?
Direct supervision applies only to selected obliged entities. Under Article 2(1)(1), a selected obliged entity is a credit institution, a financial institution, or a group of them. Other obliged entities cannot be selected.
The selection works like this:
- Assessment. AMLA periodically assesses credit and financial institutions that operate in at least six Member States, including the home Member State (Article 12(1)).
- Classification. Inherent and residual risk are classified as low, medium, substantial or high (Article 12(3)).
- Selection. Institutions with a high residual risk profile qualify as selected (Article 13(1)). If there are more than 40, AMLA may limit the selection to a specific number greater than 40 (Article 13(2)).
- At least one per country. If no institution in a Member State qualifies, AMLA runs an additional selection there among institutions with a high risk profile (Article 13(3)).
When does direct supervision start?
AMLA must start the first selection by 1 July 2027 and conclude it within six months. The list is published once the selection is complete. Direct supervision starts six months after publication. After that, the selection is repeated every three years (Article 13(4)).
AMLA's own timeline says 40 obliged entities are selected during 2027 and direct supervision starts during 2028. Which institutions are selected will only be known after the selection.
What does AMLA mean for non-financial obliged entities?
Accounting firms, auditors, law firms, real estate agents and other non-financial obliged entities will not be supervised by AMLA. Supervision stays with national supervisors. In Sweden today, these include the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) and the Estate Agents Inspectorate (Fastighetsmäklarinspektionen).
AMLA still affects your work in three ways.
Technical standards become binding law
AMLA drafts regulatory technical standards. The Commission adopts them as delegated acts (Article 49 AMLA Regulation, Article 28(4) AMLR). Once adopted, they apply directly to every obliged entity they address.
One example is the standard on the information to collect for customer due diligence (Article 28(1) AMLR). AMLA consulted on a draft in spring 2026. We cover it in AMLA's draft RTS on customer due diligence.
You must make every effort to comply with guidelines
Under Article 54(3), obliged entities "shall make every effort to comply" with AMLA's guidelines and recommendations. Each supervisor must confirm within two months whether it complies or intends to comply. AMLR gives AMLA several such mandates, for example:
- guidelines on the minimum content of the business-wide risk assessment (Article 10(4) AMLR)
- guidelines on ongoing monitoring of business relationships (Article 26(5) AMLR), see ongoing monitoring
AMLA's guidelines replace those of the EBA and of supervisors on the same subject. Until then, the earlier guidelines remain applicable as long as they are still relevant (Article 54(5)).
AMLA reviews your supervisor
For non-financial supervisors, AMLA coordinates peer reviews and checks that they have adequate resources and powers (Article 5(4)). It can investigate potential breaches or non-application of Union law by a supervisor and issue recommendations and warnings. The aim is more consistent supervision across Member States.
What is the difference between technical standards and guidelines?
| Regulatory technical standard | Guideline | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The Commission, on a draft from AMLA | AMLA |
| Legal form | Delegated regulation | Guideline or recommendation |
| Effect | Binding and directly applicable | Obliged entities must make every effort to comply |
| Consultation | Open public consultation before submission, with limited exceptions (Article 49(1)) | Open public consultation where appropriate (Article 54(2)) |
Under Article 49(1), regulatory technical standards "shall be technical, shall not imply strategic decisions or policy choices". Their content is limited by the legislation they are based on.
What should you do now?
- Follow AMLA's consultations. AMLA publishes drafts and deadlines on its website. Several concern customer due diligence directly.
- Keep drafts and law apart. An AMLA draft is not law. It becomes binding only when the Commission adopts it.
- Plan for the AMLR intervals. Customer information must be updated at least every five years, and at least every year for higher-risk customers under enhanced due diligence (Article 26(2) AMLR). Work out your dates with the review interval tool.
- Check the terms. Our glossary explains obliged entity, simplified and enhanced due diligence and more.
One customer file
AKT runs the KYC process and brings documents, screening, risk assessment and the decision together in one customer file with a full audit trail. Onboarding, periodic and event-driven review happen in the same file, and a person makes the decision. Read more about the platform.