What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:Recital 6 a (new): (6a) With a view to protecting the Union’s financial system it is essential that applicants entering into regulated professions that are obliged entities have a good understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in their sector of activity. Therefore, Member States should ensure that licensing procedures and entry requirements under national law to regulated professions that are obliged entities as referred to in Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] require applicants to demonstrate a good understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing in their sector of activity. AML/CFT training, provided either by obliged entities or by supervisors, should be accessible to such applicants.

Added:(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive (EU) 2024/1640.)

Removed:Recital 7: (7) In light of anti-money laundering vulnerabilities related to the electronic money issuing, the payment services and the crypto-assets service providing industry, it should be possible for Member States to require that those providers established on their territory in forms other than a branch and the head office of which is situated in another Member State appoint a central contact point. Such a central contact point, acting on behalf of the appointing institution, should ensure the establishments' compliance with AML/CFT rules.

Removed:Recital 8: (8) Supervisors should ensure that, with regard to currency exchange offices, cheque cashing offices, trust or company service providers or gambling service providers, the persons who effectively manage the business of such entities and the beneficial owners of such entities are of good repute and act with honesty, good faith and integrity and possess proven knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions. The criteria for determining whether or not a person complies with those requirements should, as a minimum, reflect the need to protect such entities from being misused by their managers or beneficial owners for criminal purposes. AMLA should issue guidelines for the purposes of fostering a common understanding of the elements which supervisors are to take into account in order to determine whether senior management is of good repute, acts with honesty and integrity and possesses the necessary knowledge and expertise.

Removed:Recital 8 a (new): (8a) Member States should ensure that estate agents as referred to in Regulation [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] develop or have in place training programmes for professionals. Such training programmes could be facilitated or provided by professional associations representing agents and the real estate sector. The nature and extent of training should be tailored to the scale and complexity of the business and be appropriate to the level of the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing faced by the obliged entity.

Removed:Recital 10: (10) The Commission is well placed to review specific cross-border threats that could affect the internal market and that cannot be identified and effectively combatted by individual Member States. It should therefore be entrusted with the responsibility for coordinating the assessment of risks relating to cross-border activities. Involvement of the relevant experts, such as the Expert Group on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the representatives from the FIUs, as well as, where appropriate, from other Union-level bodies, is essential for the effectiveness of the process of the assessment of risks. Ongoing national risk assessments and experience are also an important source of information for that process. Such assessment of the cross-border risks by the Commission should not involve the processing of personal data. In any event, data should be fully anonymised. National and Union data protection supervisory authorities should be involved only if the assessment of the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing has an impact on the privacy and data protection of individuals.

Removed:Recital 12: (12) Member States remain the best placed to identify, assess, understand and decide how to mitigate risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and how to fight money laundering and terrorist financing affecting them directly. Therefore, each Member State should take the appropriate steps to properly identify, assess and understand its money laundering and terrorist financing risks on an ongoing basis, as well as risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions and to define a coherent national strategy to put in place actions to mitigate those risks. Such national risk assessment should be updated regularly and should include a description of the institutional structure and broad procedures of the Member State's AML/CFT regime, as well as the allocated human and financial resources. National risk assessments should be kept up to date and should be reviewed at least every three years. Based on the identification of country-specific risks and for justified reason, the Commission should be able to require that Member States review their risk assessment earlier in order to reduce the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in the Union..

Removed:Recital 12 a (new): (12a) Member States should make a summary of the results of their risk assessment publicly available. Such a summary should not contain classified information. The information contained in such a summary should not name any natural or legal person. In specific circumstances, Member States might need to refer to prominent money laundering cases, relevant information from leaks or other major suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing that were widely reported in the media. It is accepted that in such cases it might not be possible to avoid the identification of certain natural or legal persons or that their identity can be inferred from the factual information.

Removed:Recital 13: (13) The results of risk assessments should, be made available to obliged entities in a timely and appropriate manner to enable them to identify, understand, manage and mitigate their own risks.

Removed:Recital 14: (14) In addition, to identify, understand, manage and mitigate risks at Union level to an even greater degree, Member States should make available the results of their risk assessments to each other, to the Commission and to AMLA. In order to respect privacy and protect personal data, the results of risk assessments should only be made available to the extent that the data provided is the minimum level of data necessary for the carrying out of AML/CFT duties.

Removed:Recital 15: (15) To be able to review the effectiveness of their systems for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, Member States should maintain, and improve the quality of, relevant statistics. With a view to enhancing the quality and consistency of the statistical data collected at Union level, the Commission and the AMLA should keep track of the Union-wide situation with respect to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and should publish regular overviews. The Commission should adopt implementing acts laying down the methodology for the collection of statistics and the arrangements for transmission of such statistics to the Commission and AMLA.

Removed:Recital 16: (16) The FATF has developed standards for jurisdictions to identify, and assess the risks of potential non-implementation or evasion of the targeted financial sanctions, and to take action to mitigate those risks. Those new standards introduced by the FATF do not substitute nor undermine the existing strict requirements for countries to implement targeted financial sanctions to comply with the relevant United Nations Security Council Regulations relating to the prevention, suppression and disruption of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing. Those existing obligations, as implemented at Union level by Council Decisions 2010/413/CFSP26 and (CFSP) 2016/84927 as well as Council Regulations (EU) 267/201228 and (EU) 2017/150929 remain strict rule-based obligations binding on all natural and legal persons within the Union. Strict rule-based obligations should also apply with regard to terrorism and terrorism financing-related sanctions and other targeted financial sanctions adopted by the Union.

Removed:Recital 17: (17) In order to reflect the latest developments at international level and ensure a comprehensive framework for implementing targeted financial sanctions, multiple requirements have been introduced by this Directive to prevent, identify, understand, manage and mitigate risks of potential non-implementation or evasion of financial sanctions at Union level and at Member State level.

Removed:Recital 18: (18) Central registers of beneficial ownership information are crucial in combating the misuse of legal entities. Therefore, Member States should ensure that the beneficial ownership information of legal entities and legal arrangements, information on nominee arrangements and information on foreign legal entities and foreign legal arrangements are held in a central register. To ensure that the registers of beneficial ownership information are easily accessible and contain high-quality data, consistent rules on the collection and storing of this information should be introduced. Central registers should be accessible in a readily usable and machine readable format.

Removed:Recital 19: (19) With a view to enhancing transparency in order to combat the misuse of legal entities, Member States should ensure that beneficial ownership information is stored in a central register located outside the company, in full compliance with Union law. Member States should, for that purpose, use a central database, which collects beneficial ownership information, or the business register, or another central register. Member States may decide that obliged entities are responsible for filling in the register. Member States should make sure that in all cases that information is made available to competent authorities and FIUs and is provided to obliged entities when they take customer due diligence measures.

Removed:Recital 20: (20) Beneficial ownership information of trusts and similar legal arrangements should be registered where the trustees and persons holding equivalent positions in similar legal arrangements are established or where they reside. In order to ensure the effective monitoring and registration of information on the beneficial ownership of trusts and similar legal arrangements, cooperation between Member States is also necessary. The interconnection of Member States’ registries of beneficial owners of trusts and similar legal arrangements should make this information accessible, and should also ensure that the multiple registration of the same trusts and similar legal arrangements is avoided within the Union.

Removed:Recital 22: (22) The accuracy of data included in the beneficial ownership registers is fundamental for all of the relevant authorities and other persons allowed access to that data, and to make valid, lawful decisions based on that data. Therefore, Member States should ensure that entities in charge of the central registers verify, at the time of submission of the beneficial ownership information and on a regular basis thereafter, that that the information submitted is adequate, accurate and up to date. Member States should ensure that entities in charge of central registers have at their disposal state-of-the-art technology to carry out automated verifications in a manner that safeguards fundamental rights and avoids discriminatory outcomes. Furthermore, where sufficient reasons arise, after careful analysis by the registrars, to doubt the accuracy of the beneficial ownership information held by the registers, legal entities and legal arrangements should be required to provide additional information on a risk-sensitive basis. In addition, it is important that Member States entrust the entity in charge of managing the registers with sufficient powers and resources to verify beneficial ownership and the veracity of information provided to it, and to report any suspicion to their FIU. Such powers should extend to the conduct of inspections at the premises of the legal entities and, where applicable, to obliged entities, in accordance with national law. Similarly, such powers should extend…

Removed:Recital 22 a (new): (22a) Where a verification carried out at the time of submission of the beneficial ownership information leads an entity in charge of the register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in that information , or where that information otherwise fails to fulfil the necessary requirements, Member States should ensure that such entity is able to withhold and suspend the certification of registration until the beneficial owner information provided is in order. Where the inconsistencies are detected at a later stage, Member States should ensure that the legal consequences attached to the registration cannot follow.

Removed:Recital 22 b (new): (22b) Member States should ensure that, in the event of repeated failure to provide up-to-date, accurate and adequate information to the authorities in charge of the central registers, the relevant national authorities impose appropriate sanctions. Such sanctions should be able to include restrictions in the access to certain professions and in the exercise of certain functions within a corporate, legal entity or legal arrangement, restrictions in the establishment of a business relationship with an obliged entities, in the exercise of ownership rights of a corporate and legal entity or in the ability to receive dividends, and suspension or discontinuation of activities. The entity in charge of registers should notify the national authorities competent for imposing appropriate sanctions of the repeated failures. In the event of repeated failures to provide up-to-date, accurate and adequate information, sanctions should be increased to the level necessary to ensure compliance.

Removed:Recital 22 c (new): (22c) Entities in charge of central registers should be operationally independent and autonomous and have the authority and capacity to carry out their functions free of political, governmental or industry influence or interference. Staff of such entities should be of high integrity and appropriately skilled and maintain high professional standards. Employees or managers of the central register who report breaches of the requirements under this Directive should be legally protected from being exposed to threats, retaliatory or hostile action and, in particular, adverse or discriminatory employment actions in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a. / 1a Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).

Removed:Recital 22 d (new): (22d) Peer reviews are an effective instrument to ensure that registers established in Member States fulfil the requirements of this Directive and to identify best practices and shortcomings. AMLA should therefore have a role in conducting peer reviews of some or all of the activities of the entities in charge of the central beneficial ownership registers with the purpose of assessing whether those entities have mechanisms to fulfil the requirements of this Directive and effectively check whether the beneficial ownership information held in those register is accurate, adequate and up to date.

Removed:Recital 22 e (new): (22e) Beneficial ownership registers are well placed to identify, in a rapid and efficient manner, the individuals who ultimately own or control legal entities and arrangements, including individuals designated in relation to targeted financial sanctions. Timely detection of such ownership structures contributes to improving the understanding of the exposure to risks of evasion of targeted financial sanctions, and to the adoption of mitigating measures to reduce such risks. It is therefore important that such registers be required to screen the beneficial ownership information they hold against designations in relation to targeted financial sanctions, both immediately upon such designation and regularly thereafter, in order to detect whether changes in the ownership or control structure of the legal entity or arrangement are conducive to risks of evasion of targeted financial sanctions. Entities in charge of beneficial ownership registers should promptly share such findings with competent authorities, including FIUs and AML/CFT supervisors, for the purposes of ensuring compliance with targeted financial sanctions.

Removed:Recital 24: (24) In view of ensuring that the mechanism of discrepancy reporting is proportionate and focused on the detection of instances of inaccurate beneficial ownership information, Member States should allow obliged entities to request the customer to rectify discrepancies of a technical nature directly with the entity in charge of the central registers. Such option only applies to low-risk customers and to those errors of a technical nature, such as minor cases of misspelt information, where it is evident that that those do not hinder the identification of the beneficial owner(s) and the accuracy of the information.

Removed:Recital 27 a (new): (27a) FIUs, other competent authorities, self-regulatory bodies and obliged entities should have prompt, unrestricted and free access to information on beneficial ownership through the European Central Platform for the purposes of combating money laundering and terrorism financing and carrying out due diligence.

Removed:Recital 28: (28) Registers of beneficial ownership are important tools for advancing the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, and corruption, tax abuse and other predicate offences. The access to that information also helps investigations on money laundering, associated predicate offences and terrorist financing.

Removed:Recital 29: deleted

Removed:Recital 30: (30) In its judgment of 22 November 2022 in Case C-37/2011a, the Court of Justice ruled that persons connected with the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing are considered as having a legitimate interest in accessing the information on beneficial owners. Notably, the Court identified several categories of persons as having a legitimate interest in accessing such information, namely persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or other form of expression in the media that are connected with the prevention and combating of money laundering, any of its associated predicate offences or terrorist financing; civil society organisations that are connected with the prevention and combating of money laundering, any of its associated predicate offences or terrorist financing; persons who are likely to enter into transactions or business relationship with a corporate, legal entity or legal arrangements; and financial institutions and authorities in so far as they are involved in the prevention and combat of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing and do not already have access pursuant to Article 11 of this Directive. Therefore, this Directive aims at defining a minimum and non-exhaustive list of persons that have a legitimate interest in accessing information on beneficial owners. Other categories of persons could also claim a legitimate interest based on grounds other than those listed in this Directive. While fully re…

Removed:Recital 31: (31) With regard to corporate, legal entities and legal arrangements, a fair balance should be sought in particular between the general public interest in the prevention of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing and the data subjects’ fundamental rights. The set of data to be made available to the persons having a legitimate interest should be limited, clearly and exhaustively defined, and should be of a general nature, so as to minimise the potential prejudice to the beneficial owners. At the same time, information made accessible to the persons having a legitimate interest should not significantly differ from the data currently collected. In order to limit the interference with the right to respect for their private life in general and to protection of their personal data in particular, that information should relate essentially to the status of beneficial owners of corporate, legal entities and legal arrangements and should strictly concern the sphere of economic activity in which the beneficial owners operate. In cases where the senior managing official has been identified as the beneficial owner only ex officio and not through ownership interest held or control exercised by other means, this should be clearly visible in the registers.

Removed:Recital 32: deleted

Removed:Recital 33: (33) In order to ensure that the information available to persons having a legitimate interest allows the correct identification of the beneficial owner, a minimum set of data should be accessible to persons having a legitimate interest. Such data should allow for the unequivocal identification of the beneficial owner, whilst minimising the amount of personal data accessible. In the absence of information pertaining to the name, the month and year of birth and the country of residence and nationality of the beneficial owner, it would not be possible to establish unambiguously who the natural person being the beneficial owner is. Similarly, the absence of information on the nature and extent of beneficial interest held, including information on ownership and control chain, as well as the date somebody became a beneficial owner, would make it impossible to determine why that natural person should be identified as being the beneficial owner at a given moment. Therefore, in order to avoid misinterpretations of the beneficial ownership information available and to ensure a proportionate disclosure of personal data consistent across the Union, it is appropriate to lay down the set of data that can be accessed by persons having a legitimate interest.

Removed:Recital 34: (34) Competent authorities, obliged entities and persons having a legitimate interest need to access information on the beneficial owners of corporate, legal entities and legal arrangements that have been struck off from registers. This is due to the fact that investigations, monitoring, analysis or research need sufficient time to detect, uncover and identify facts related to money laundering and terrorist financing cases. Money laundering schemes often involve corporate entities, legal entities and legal arrangements which are created for a short period to limit traceability. An immediate deletion of the data would create a loophole whereby criminals would strike off related corporate entities, legal entities or legal arrangements for the purpose of removing any trace of them for competent authorities, obliged entities and persons having a legitimate interest. Therefore, it is essential that the information on beneficial ownership remains available through the national registers and through the system of interconnection of beneficial ownership registers for a minimum of five years and up to ten years after the grounds for registering beneficial ownership information of the trust or similar legal arrangement have ceased to exist. Without prejudice to national law on evidence applicable to ongoing criminal investigations and legal proceedings, Member States should be able to allow or require the retention of such information or documents in concrete cases for a further maximu…

Removed:Recital 35: (35) Moreover, with the aim of ensuring a proportionate and balanced approach and to guarantee the rights to private life and personal data protection, Member States should provide for exemptions to the disclosure of the personal information on the beneficial owner through the registers of beneficial ownership information and to access to such information, in exceptional circumstances, where that information would expose the beneficial owner to a disproportionate risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation. Such exemptions should be granted by competent authorities on a case-by-case basis and upon a detailed analysis of the nature of the exceptional circumstances in each case. It should also be possible for Member States to require online registration in order to identify any person who requests information from the register, as well as the payment of a proportionate and adequate fee for access to the information in the register, which should not exceed the direct costs of requesting or making the information available. Where the access to the register is provided online through electronic means, Member States should not require the payment of any fees since it is assumed that there is no direct cost of making the information available.

Removed:Recital 35 a (new): (35a) Currently, certain Member States require online registration in order to be able to identify any person who requests information from the register of beneficial ownership information, and the payment of a fee to obtain information from the register. Identification of users can be a legitimate requirement but it should not lead to discrimination based on their country of residence or nationality. Furthermore, requirements linked to registration or to fees can impede access to registers of beneficial ownership information. It is essential that Member States ensure access to beneficial ownership information without any restrictions based on geographical location or nationality.

Removed:Recital 36: (36) Directive (EU) 2018/843 achieved the interconnection of Member States’ central registers holding beneficial ownership information through the European Central Platform established by Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council30. It is essential that the European Central Platform serve as a central search service, making available all information related to beneficial ownership to competent authorities, self-regulatory bodies, obliged entities and persons having a legitimate interest. Continued involvement of Member States in the functioning of the whole system should be ensured by means of a regular dialogue between the Commission and the representatives of Member States on the issues concerning the operation of the system and on its future development. The European Parliament should be informed about the evolution of this dialogue.

Removed:Recital 38: (38) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 31 applies to the processing of personal data for the purposes of this Directive. Natural persons whose personal data are held in national registers as beneficial owners should be informed about the applicable data protection rules. Furthermore, competent authorities, obliged entities and persons having a legitimate interest should be able to access the history of all beneficial owners in a given corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement in order to identify previous beneficial owners. Such information may be particularly necessary for monitoring, analysis and investigation related to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. Only personal data that is up to date and corresponds to the actual beneficial owners at a given moment in time should be made available and the beneficiaries should be informed about their rights under the Union legal data protection framework and the procedures applicable for exercising those rights.

Removed:Recital 39: (39) Delayed access to information by FIUs and other competent authorities on the identity of holders of bank, and payment and securities, accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes, especially anonymous ones, hampers the detection of transfers of funds relating to money laundering and terrorist financing. National data allowing the identification of bank, and payments and securities, accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes belonging to one person is fragmented and therefore not accessible to FIUs and to other competent authorities in a timely manner. It is therefore essential to establish centralised automated mechanisms, such as a register or data retrieval system, in all Member States as an efficient means to get timely access to information on the identity of holders of bank and payment accounts, including virtual bank accounts, securities accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes, their proxy holders, and their beneficial owners. Such information should include the historical information on closed customer-account holders, bank, payment and securities accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes. When applying the access provisions, it is appropriate for pre-existing mechanisms to be used provided that national FIUs can access the data for which they make inquiries in an immediate and unfiltered manner. Member States should consider feeding such mechanisms with other information deemed …

Removed:Recital 40: (40) In order to respect privacy and protect personal data, the minimum data necessary for the carrying out of AML/CFT investigations should be held in centralised automated mechanisms for bank accounts and crypto-asset wallets, such as registers or data retrieval systems. It should be possible for Member States to determine which data it is useful and proportionate to gather, taking into account the systems and legal traditions in place to enable the meaningful identification of the beneficial owners. When transposing the provisions relating to those mechanisms, Member States should set out retention periods equivalent to the period for retention of the documentation and information obtained within the application of customer due diligence measures. It should be possible for Member States to exceptionally extend the retention period, provided good reasons are given. The additional retention period should not exceed an additional five years. That period should be without prejudice to national criminal law on evidence applicable to ongoing criminal investigations and legal proceedings and allow or require the retention of such information or documents in concrete cases for a further maximum period of five years where the necessity and proportionality of such further retention have been established for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing. Access to those mechanisms should be on a need-to-know basis.

Removed:Recital 41: (41) Through the interconnection of Member States’ centralised automated mechanisms, the national FIUs and other competent national authorities designated according to Directive (EU) 2019/11531a would be able to obtain swiftly cross-border information on the identity of holders of bank, payment and securities accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe deposit boxes in other Member States, which would reinforce their ability to effectively carry out financial analysis, detect, investigate or prosecute criminal offences, and cooperate with their counterparts from other Member States. Direct cross-border access to information on bank, payment and securities accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe deposit boxes would enable the Financial Intelligence Units to produce financial analysis within a sufficiently short timeframe to detect potential money laundering and terrorist financing cases and guarantee a swift law enforcement action. / 1a Directive (EU) 2019/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 laying down rules facilitating the use of financial and other information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of certain criminal offences, and repealing Council Decision 2000/642/JHA, OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 122–137.

Removed:Recital 42: (42) In order to respect the right to the protection of personal data and the right to privacy, and to limit the impact of cross-border access to the information contained in the national centralised automated mechanisms, the scope of information accessible through the bank account registers (BAR) central access point would be restricted to the minimum necessary in accordance with the principle of data minimisation in order to allow the identification of any natural or legal persons holding or controlling payment accounts and bank accounts identified by IBAN, securities accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes. FIUs and the other competent authorities designated according to Directive (EU) 2019/1153 should be granted immediate and unfiltered access to the central access point. Member States should ensure that the FIUs’ staff maintain high professional standards of confidentiality and data protection, that they are of high integrity and are appropriately skilled including in detecting biases in and ethical use of big data sets. Moreover, Member States should put in place technical and organisational measures guaranteeing the security of the data to high technological standards.

Removed:Recital 44: (44) Land and real estate is an attractive commodity for criminals to launder the proceeds of their illicit activities, as it allows obscuring the true source of the funds and the identity of the beneficial owner. Proper and timely identification of natural or legal person owning land and real estate by FIUs and other competent authorities is important both for detecting money laundering schemes as well as for freezing, seizing and confiscation of assets, in particular in the case of targeted financial sanctions. Member States should set-up registers or electronic data retrieval systems to effectively put an end to real estate or land as a means to launder money. It is therefore important that Member States provide FIUs and competent authorities with access to information through a single access point in each Member State, which allows the identification in a timely manner of natural or legal person owning land and real estate, including through registers or electronic data retrieval systems, and information relevant for the identification of the beneficial owner, as well as timely access to the information relevant for the identification of the risk and suspicion of the transaction. Such data should be interconnected via the European real estate data single access point (E-RED) to be developed and operated by the Commission.

Removed:Recital 44 a (new): (44a) Certain goods registered under national law can be attractive commodities for criminals to launder the proceeds of their illicit activities. Member States should provide for systems to aggregate information on ownership of such goods, for example watercrafts and aircrafts. Member States should also consider aggregating, through registers or other systems, information on ownership of certain other goods of high value, particularly insured goods. Proper and timely identification of natural persons who are beneficial owners of those goods by FIUs and other competent authorities is important both for detecting money laundering schemes and for freezing assets. It is therefore important for Member States to provide FIUs and competent authorities with access to information which allows the identification in a timely manner of natural persons owning certain goods directly or via beneficial ownership and to information relevant for the identification of the risk and suspicion of transactions. Given the money laundering and terrorist financing risk posed by goods in freezones, it is similarly important for Member States to ensure that information on certain goods in freezones is available to competent authorities through registers or electronic data retrieval systems on free zones. Those registers or data retrieval system should be interconnected via the free zone goods’ information (FZGI) single access point to be developed and operated by the Commission.

Removed:Recital 45: (45) All Member States have, or should, set up operationally independent and autonomous FIUs to collect and analyse the information which they receive with the aim of establishing links between suspicious transactions and underlying criminal activity in order to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FIU should be the single central national unit responsible for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports, reports on cross-border physical movements of cash through the customs information system and on payments in cash above a certain threshold as well as other information relevant to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing submitted by obliged entities. Operational independence and autonomy of the FIU should be ensured by granting the FIU the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions as regards analysis, requests and dissemination of specific information. In all cases, the FIU should have the independent right to forward or disseminate information to competent authorities. The FIU should be provided with adequate financial, human and technical resources, in a manner that secures its autonomy and independence and enables it to exercise its mandate effectively. The FIU should be able to obtain and deploy the resources needed to carry out its functions, on an individual or routine basis, free from any undue political, government or industry influenc…

Removed:Recital 45 a (new): (45a) FIU staff should be of high integrity and appropriately skilled, including in detecting biases in, and in the ethical use of, big data sets, and maintain high professional standards. FIU staff should not be in a situation where a conflict of interest exists or could be perceived to exist. AMLA should adopt guidelines to address situations of conflict of interest.

Removed:Recital 46: (46) FIUs play an important role in identifying the financial operations of terrorist networks, especially cross-border, and in detecting their financial backers. Financial intelligence might be of fundamental importance in uncovering the facilitation of terrorist offences and the networks and schemes of terrorist organisations. FIUs maintain significant differences as regards their functions, competences and powers. The current differences should however not affect an FIU’s activity, particularly its capacity to develop preventive analyses in support of all the authorities in charge of intelligence, investigative and judicial activities, and international cooperation. In the exercise of their tasks, it has become essential to identify the minimum set of data FIUs should have swift access to and be able to exchange without impediments with their counterparts from other Member States. In all cases of suspected money laundering, its predicate offences and in cases involving the financing of terrorism, information should flow directly and quickly without undue delays. It is therefore essential to further enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of FIUs, by clarifying the powers of and cooperation between FIUs. FIUs should cooperate with each other to the greatest extent possible. An FIU should be able to refuse to exchange information with another FIU only in exceptional circumstances where the exchange could be contrary to fundamental principles of national law. Such exceptiona…

Removed:Recital 47: (47) The powers of FIUs include the right to access directly or indirectly the ‘financial’, ‘administrative’ and ‘law enforcement’ information that they require in order to combat money laundering, its associated predicate offences and terrorist financing. The lack of definition of what types of information these general categories include has resulted in FIUs having been granted with access to considerably diversified sets of information which has an impact on FIUs’ analytical functions as well as on their capacity to cooperate effectively with their counterparts from other Member States. It is therefore necessary to define the minimum sets of ‘financial’, ‘administrative’ and ‘law enforcement’ information that should be made directly or indirectly available to every FIU across the Union. Moreover, FIUs should be able to obtain swiftly from any obliged entity all necessary information relating to their functions. An FIU should also be able to obtain such information upon request made by another FIU and to exchange that information with the requesting FIU in compliance with existing legal provisions, such as Directive (EU) 2019/1153. Access to financial, administrative and law enforcement information by FIUs should be in accordance with the principle of data minimisation.

Removed:Recital 48: (48) The vast majority of FIUs have been granted the power to take urgent action and suspend or prohibit a transaction for a pre-determined period in order to analyse it, confirm the suspicion and disseminate the results of the analytical activities to the competent authorities. However, there are certain variations in relation to the duration of the postponement powers across the different Member States, with an impact not only on the postponement of activities that have a cross-border nature through FIU-to-FIU cooperation, but also on individuals’ fundamental rights. Furthermore, in order to ensure that FIUs have the capacity to promptly restrain criminal funds or assets and prevent their dissipation, also for seizure purposes, FIUs should be granted the power to suspend, for the necessary and adequate period, the use of a bank or payment account in order to analyse the transactions performed through the account, confirm the suspicion and disseminate the results of the analysis to the competent authorities. Given that postponement powers have an impact on the right to property, the preservation of affected persons’ fundamental rights should be guaranteed. Where an FIU decides to suspend or prohibit a transaction or an account that concerns another Member State, it should promptly forward that information to the FIU of that Member State and make it available to other FIUs through FIU.net. Each FIU should appoint a fundamental rights officer from within its own staff to ensur…

Removed:Recital 49: (49) For the purposes of greater transparency and accountability and to increase awareness with regard to their activities, FIUs should issue activity reports on an annual basis. These reports should at least provide statistical data in relation to the suspicious transaction reports received, the number of disseminations made to national competent authorities, the number of requests submitted to and received by other FIUs, information on trends and typologies identified and requests submitted to and received from competent authorities, Europol and EPPO. This report should be made public except for the elements which contain sensitive and classified information. At regular intervals, and at at least once annually, the FIU should provide obliged entities with feedback on the quality of suspicious transaction reports, their timeliness, the description of suspicion and any additional documents provided. Such feedback should be provided to individual obliged entities or groups of obliged entities, depending on the sector, and should aim to further improve the obliged entities’ ability to detect and identify suspicious transactions and activities and enhance the overall reporting mechanisms.

Removed:Recital 50: (50) The purpose of the FIU is to collect and analyse the information which they receive with the aim of establishing links between suspicious transactions and underlying criminal activity in order to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and to disseminate the results of its analysis as well as additional information to the competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, associated predicate offences or financing of terrorism. An FIU should not refrain from or refuse the exchange of information to another FIU, spontaneously or upon request, for reasons such as a lack of identification of an associated predicate offence, features of criminal national laws and differences between the definitions of associated predicate offences or the absence of a reference to particular associated predicate offences. Similarly, an FIU should grant its prior consent to another FIU to forward the information to other competent authorities regardless of the type of possible associated predicate offence and whether or not the predicate offence has been identified, in order to allow the dissemination function to be carried out effectively. FIUs have reported difficulties in exchanging information based on differences in national definitions of certain predicate offences, such as tax crimes, which are not harmonised by Union law. Such differences should not hamper the mutual exchange, the dissemination to other competent authorities and the use of t…

Removed:Recital 50 a (new): (50a) For FIUs to carry out their tasks effectively, given the cross-border nature of many transactions, they must cooperate with each other and with competent authorities, including not only law enforcement authorities, but also tax and customs authorities, Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), in a more meaningful and efficient manner. Cooperation with FIUs of third countries is also essential in order to fight money laundering and terrorist financing at the global level and to comply with international AML/CFT standards. Member States should enable, through their legislation, such cooperation and empower their FIUs to enter into effective cooperation arrangements.

Removed:Recital 50 b (new): (50b) In order to ensure appropriate follow up, it is essential that FIUs disseminate the results of their analysis to competent authorities, including information received from other FIUs. Where prior consent to further dissemination is necessary, Member States should ensure that the requested FIU’s prior consent is granted promptly and to the largest extent possible, regardless of the type of predicate offences and whether or not the predicate offence has been identified. Any refusal should be based solely on objective grounds and be grounded on a reasoned justification that such dissemination would fall beyond the scope of application of AML/CFT provisions, could lead to impairing ongoing investigations, or would affect fundamental principles of Union or national law.

Removed:Recital 50 c (new): (50c) When granting consent for the further dissemination of information to competent authorities, the requested FIU should be able to impose restrictions and conditions for the use of that information. The receiving FIU and the competent authorities concerned should comply with the restrictions and conditions set by the requested FIU. For example, a requested FIU might agree that the receiving FIU disseminate the information to competent authorities on the condition that that information can be used for operational and strategic analysis purposes only. In such an event, competent authorities in the receiving Member State should not automatically use the disseminated information as evidence in a judicial proceeding but the competent authorities of that Member State should rather use the applicable judicial cooperation mechanisms to seek information for evidentiary purposes.

Removed:Recital 51: (51) FIUs should use secure facilities, including protected channels of communication by using end-to-end encryption, to cooperate and exchange information amongst each other via the FIU.net and, when available, its one-stop-shop. In this respect, a fully encrypted, safe and secure system for the exchange of information between FIUs of the Member States (‘FIU.net’) should be set up. The system should be managed and hosted by AMLA. The FIU.net should be the only system used by FIUs to cooperate and exchange information amongst each other and may also be used, where appropriate, to exchange information with FIUs of third countries and with other authorities and Union bodies. The functionalities of the FIU.net should be used by FIUs to their full potential. Those functionalities should allow FIUs to match their data with data of other FIUs in an anonymous way, and their subject matter data with the Europol database in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/794, with the aim of detecting subjects of the FIU's interests in other Member States and identifying their proceeds and funds, whilst ensuring full protection of personal data.

Removed:Recital 51 a (new): (51a) Obliged entities should report suspicions of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing, including attempted transactions, directly to the FIU of the Member State in whose territory the obliged entity in question is established. For that purpose, obliged entities should follow the instructions from their FIU for reporting such suspicion by using protected communication channels. In order to further standardise the reporting of Suspicious Transaction Reports STRs, to reach efficiency gains in FIU operations, and to facilitate the reporting by obliged entities, it is essential to develop a common interface for such reporting based on the FIU.Net system (“FIU.Net one-stop-shop”). AMLA should develop the FIU.Net one-stop-shop reporting interface in order to enable an obliged entity to report directly information to the FIU of the Member State in whose territory the obliged entity transmitting the information is established. Such interface should also allow for the immediate transmission of that information to any other FIU which is concerned by a suspicious transaction report, based on the criteria to be determined through regulatory technical standards. The use of the FIU.Net one-stop-shop should be introduced gradually over time in order to allow a smooth and uninterrupted reporting of suspicion transaction reports and to leave sufficient time for FIUs and obliged entities to implement the necessary technical changes. FIUs should therefore be able to…

Removed:Recital 52: (52) It is important that FIUs cooperate and exchange information effectively with one another. In this regard, AMLA should provide the necessary assistance, not only by means of coordinating joint analyses of cross-border suspicious transaction reports, but also by developing draft regulatory technical standards concerning the format to be used for the exchange of information between FIUs and the relevant factors to be taken into account when determining if a suspicious transaction report concerns another Member State as well as guidelines on the nature, features and objectives of operational and of strategic analysis.

Removed:Recital 54: (54) The movement of illicit money traverses borders and may affect different Member States. The cross-border cases, involving multiple jurisdictions, are becoming more and more frequent and increasingly significant, also due to the activities carried out by obliged entities on a cross-border basis. In order to deal effectively with cases that concern several Member States, FIUs should be able to go beyond the simple exchange of information for the detection and analysis of suspicious transactions and activities and share the analytical activity itself. FIUs have reported certain important issues which limit or condition the capacity of FIUs and AMLA to engage in joint analysis. Carrying out joint analysis of suspicious transactions and activities will enable FIUs to exploit potential synergies, to use information from different Union and national sources, to obtain a full picture of the anomalous activities and to enrich the analysis. FIUs should be able to conduct joint analyses of suspicious transactions and activities and to set up and participate in joint analysis teams for specific purposes and limited period with the assistance of AMLA. The participation of third parties may be instrumental for the successful outcome of joint analyses. Therefore, FIUs may invite, when necessary and relevant, third parties to take part in the joint analysis where such participation would fall within the respective mandates of those third parties. Similarly, AMLA should be able to take t…

Removed:Recital 55: (55) Effective supervision of all obliged entities is essential to protect the integrity of the Union financial system and of the internal market. To this end, Member States should deploy effective, independent and impartial AML/CFT supervision and set forth the conditions for effective, timely and sustained cooperation between supervisors, and the supervisors should be accordingly granted with such legal powers.

Removed:Recital 56: (56) Member States should ensure effective, impartial, independent and risk-based supervision of all obliged entities, preferably by public authorities via a separate and independent national supervisor. National supervisors should be able to perform a comprehensive range of tasks in order to exercise effective supervision of all obliged entities.

Removed:Recital 58: (58) In order to assess and monitor more effectively and regularly the risks the obliged entities are exposed to and the manner in which they implement targeted financial sanctions, it is necessary to clarify that national supervisors are both entitled and bound to conduct all the necessary off-site, on-site and thematic investigations and any other inquiries and assessments as they see necessary. They should also be able to react without undue delay to any suspicion of non-compliance with applicable requirements and to take appropriate supervisory measures to address allegations of non-compliance. This will not only help supervisors decide on those cases where the specific risks inherent in a sector are clear and understood, but also provide them with the tools required to further disseminate relevant information to obliged entities in order to inform their understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

Removed:Recital 59: (59) Outreach activities, including dissemination of information by the supervisors to the obliged entities under their supervision, including on data protection issues, are essential to guarantee that the private sector has an adequate understanding of the nature and level of money laundering and terrorist financing risks they face and their obligations in that regard.

Removed:Recital 60: (60) Supervisors should adopt a risk-based approach to their work, which should enable them to focus their resources where the risks are the highest, whilst ensuring that no sector or entity is left exposed to criminal attempts to launder money or finance terrorism. AMLA should play a leading role in fostering a common understanding of risks, and should therefore be entrusted with developing the benchmarks and a methodology for assessing and classifying the inherent and residual risk profile of obliged entities, as well as the frequency at which such risk profile should be reviewed. In that regard, supervisors and self-regulatory bodies should adopt annual activity reports and make summaries thereof publicly available.

Removed:Recital 62: (62) Cooperation between national supervisors is essential to ensure a common supervisory approach across the Union. To be effective, this cooperation has to be leveraged to the greatest extent possible and regardless of the respective nature or status of the supervisors. In addition to traditional cooperation - such as the ability to conduct investigations on behalf of a requesting supervisory authority – it is appropriate to mandate the set-up of AML/CFT supervisory colleges, including with the participation of third-country financial supervisors under certain conditions and AMLA, with respect to obliged entities operating under the freedom to provide services or of establishment and with the respect of obliged entities which are part of a group. The supervisory activities of AML/CFT supervisory colleges should be proportionate to the level of risk posed by the relevant obliged entity and the scale of significance of cross-border activity.

Removed:Recital 66: (66) Cross-border groups need to have in place far-reaching group-wide policies and procedures. To ensure that cross-border operations are matched by adequate supervision, there is a need to set out detailed supervisory rules, enabling supervisors of the home Member State and those of the host Member State cooperate with each other to the greatest extent possible, regardless of their respective nature or status, and with AMLA to assess the risks, monitor developments that could affect the various entities that form part of the group, coordinate supervisory action and settle disputes by means of binding instructions. Given its coordinating role, AMLA should be entrusted with the duty to developing the draft regulatory technical standards defining the detailed respective duties of the home and host supervisors of groups, and the modalities of cooperation between them. The supervision of the effective implementation of group policy on AML/CFT should be done in accordance with the principles and modalities of consolidated supervision as laid down in the relevant European sectoral legislation.

Removed:Recital 69: (69) Directive (EU) 2015/849 allowed Member States to entrust the supervision of some obliged entities to self-regulatory bodies. However, the quality and intensity of supervision performed by such self-regulatory bodies has been insufficient, and under no or close to no public scrutiny. Where a Member State decides to entrust supervision to a self-regulatory body, it should also designate a public authority to oversee the activities of the self-regulatory body to ensure that the performance of those activities is in line with the requirements of this Directive. That public authority should be operationally independent and autonomous and should carry out its functions free of political, government or industry influence or interference.

Removed:Recital 70: (70) The importance of combating money laundering and terrorist financing should result in Member States laying down effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative sanctions and measures in national law for failure to respect the requirements of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation]. National supervisors should be empowered by Member States to impose such measures to obliged entities to remedy the situation in the case of breaches and, where the breach so justifies, issue pecuniary sanctions. The range of sanctions and measures should be sufficiently broad to allow Member States and competent authorities to take account of the differences between obliged entities, in particular between credit institutions, financial institutions and other obliged entities, as regards their size, characteristics and the nature of the business.

Removed:Recital 71: (71) Member States currently have a diverse range of administrative sanctions and measures for breaches of the key preventative provisions in place and an inconsistent approach to investigating and sanctioning violations of anti-money laundering requirements, nor is there a common understanding among supervisors as to what should constitute a "serious" violation and thus distinguish when an administrative sanction should be imposed. That diversity is detrimental to the efforts made in combating money laundering and terrorist financing and the Union's response is fragmented. Therefore, common criteria for determining the most appropriate supervisory response to breaches should be laid down and a range of administrative measures that the supervisors could impose when the breaches are not sufficiently serious to be punished with an administrative sanction should be provided. In order to incentivise obliged entities to comply with the provisions of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation], it is necessary to strengthen the dissuasive nature of administrative sanctions. Accordingly, the minimum amount of the maximum penalty that can be imposed in case of serious breaches of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation] should be raised, in a proportionate and adequate way. In that regard, it is essential that regulatory technical standards are developed to define indicators to classify the level of …

Removed:Recital 73: (73) Publication of an administrative sanction or measure for breach of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation] can have a strong dissuasive effect against repetition of such breach. It also informs other entities of the money laundering and financing of terrorism risks associated with the sanctioned obliged entity before entering into a business relationship and assists supervisors in other Member States in relation to the risks associated with an obliged entity when it operates in their Member State on a cross-border basis. For those reasons, the requirement to publish decisions on sanctions where such decisions are no longer subject to internal review should be confirmed. However, any such publication should be proportionate and, in the taking of a decision whether to publish an administrative sanction or measure, supervisors should take into account the gravity of the breach and the dissuasive effect that the publication is likely to achieve.

Removed:Recital 74: (74) There have been a number of cases where employees who have reported their suspicions of money laundering or of violations of AML/CFT requirements have been subjected to threats or hostile action. It is crucial that this issue be addressed to ensure effectiveness of the AML/CFT system. Member States should be aware of this problem and should protect individuals, including employees, such as data protection officers and AML compliance officers, and other representatives of the obliged entity, from such threats or hostile action, and provide, in accordance with Union and national law, in particular Directive EU 2019/1937, appropriate protection to such persons, particularly with regard to their right to the protection of their personal data and their rights to effective judicial protection and representation. Member States should apply the same approach with regard to employees of competent authorities, in particular staff from supervisory authorities or self-regulatory bodies who report potential or actual breaches of AML/CFT requirements.

Removed:Recital 75: (75) The new fully-integrated and coherent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policy at Union level, with designated roles for both Union and national competent authorities and with a view to ensure their smooth and constant cooperation. In that regard, cooperation between all national and Union AML/CFT authorities is of the utmost importance and should be clarified and enhanced in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to prevent the non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions. Internally, it remains the duty of Member States to provide for the necessary rules to ensure that policy makers, the FIUs, supervisors, including AMLA, and other competent authorities involved in AML/CFT, as well as tax authorities and law enforcement authorities when acting within the scope of this Directive, have effective mechanisms to enable them to cooperate and coordinate, including with other Union bodies and through a restrictive approach to the refusal by competent authorities to cooperate and exchange information at the request of another competent authority.

Removed:Recital 76: (76) In order to facilitate and promote effective cooperation, and in particular the exchange of information, Member States should be required to communicate to the Commission and AMLA the list of their competent authorities and registers and their relevant contact details. That list should take into account existing expertise and available networks, such as the expertise gained by the competent authorities of Member States and of third countries through their cooperation with Europol in their fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Removed:Recital 78 a (new): (78a) Member States should ensure that credit institutions and financial institutions located on their territory provide legal persons and natural persons who are legally resident in the Union, including natural persons with no fixed address, asylum seekers and natural persons who have not been granted a residence permit but whose expulsion is impossible for legal or factual reasons, the right to open and use a payment account with basic features. Such a right should apply irrespective of the natural person’s place of residence. Such a right does not, in any way, exempt obliged entities from their obligations under this Directive and Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)], in particular their obligation to ensure that proper due diligence checks are carried out on the persons in question.

Removed:Recital 79: (79) The cooperation between financial supervisors and the authorities responsible for crisis management of credit institutions and investment firms, such as in particular Deposit Guarantee Scheme designated authorities and resolution authorities, is necessary to reconcile the objectives to prevent money laundering under this Directive and to protect financial stability and depositors under the Directives 2014/49/EU and 2014/59/EU. Financial supervisors should oversee the performance and quality of customer due diligence processes where the credit institution has been determined failing or likely to fail or when the deposits are defined as unavailable, and the reporting of any suspicious transactions to the FIU. Financial supervisors should inform the authorities responsible for crisis management of credit institutions and investment firms of any relevant outcome from the customer due diligence performed and of any account that has been suspended by the FIU.

Removed:Recital 83: (83) Supervisors should be able to cooperate and exchange confidential information, regardless of their respective nature or status. To this end, they should have an adequate legal basis for exchange of confidential information and for cooperation. Exchange of information and cooperation with other authorities competent for supervising or overseeing obliged entities under other Union acts should not be hampered unintentionally by legal uncertainty which may stem from a lack of explicit provisions in this field. Clarification of the legal framework is even more important since prudential supervision has, in a number of cases, been entrusted to non-AML/CFT supervisors, such as the European Central Bank (ECB). When imposing administrative sanctions and supervisory measures on obliged entities, or performing other tasks necessitating coordination between supervisors and non-AML/CFT authorities, the authorities concerned should take into account the differences between their respective supervisory mandates and cooperate accordingly.

Removed:Recital 83 a (new): (83a) The exchange of information among supervisors and with other authorities is a key enabler in order to ensure the effectiveness of the Union AML/CFT framework. Member States should authorise the exchange of information between supervisors and other relevant authorities, including, where relevant, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and OLAF with regard to possible cases pertaining to their respective legal mandates. Confidential information exchanged should only be used in the discharge of the duties of the authorities concerned and in the context of administrative or judicial proceedings specifically related to the discharge of those duties.

Removed:Recital 84: (84) The effectiveness of the Union AML/CFT framework relies on the cooperation between a wide array of competent authorities. To facilitate such cooperation, AMLA should be entrusted to develop guidelines in coordination with the ECB, the European Supervisory Authorities, Europol, Eurojust, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office on cooperation between all competent authorities at Union and national level. Such guidelines should also describe how authorities competent for the supervision or oversight of obliged entities under other Union acts should take into account money laundering and terrorist financing concerns in the performance of their duties.

Removed:Recital 86: (86) It is essential that the alignment of this Directive with the revised FATF Recommendations is carried out in full compliance with Union law, in particular as regards Union data protection law, including rules on data transfers, as well as the protection of fundamental rights as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’). Certain aspects of the implementation of this Directive involve the collection, analysis, storage and sharing of data within the Union and possibly with third countries. Such processing of personal data should be permitted only for the purposes laid down in this Directive, and for the activities required under this Directive, such as the exchange of information among competent authorities, and should fully respect fundamental rights obligations as required by Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Union data protection rules as regards onward data transfers, including to third countries.

Removed:Recital 90: (90) In order to ensure consistent approaches among FIUs and among supervisors, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Directive by adopting the regulatory technical standards setting out the criteria as regards appointment and functions of a central contact point of certain services providers, setting out indicators to classify the level of gravity of breaches and criteria for repeated failures to provide registers with up-to-date, accurate and adequate information on beneficial ownership, setting out benchmarks and methodology for assessing and classifying the inherent and residual risk profile of obliged entities and the frequency of risk profile reviews, laying down details of duties of the home and host supervisors, and the modalities of cooperation between them, specifying the general conditions for the functioning of the AML supervisory colleges and the operational functioning of such colleges, specifying the general conditions for supervision of groups of obliged entities other than credit or financial institutions, defining indicators to classify the level of gravity of breaches of this Directive and criteria to be taken into account when setting the level of administrative sanctions or taking administrative measures. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including…

Removed:Recital 91: (91) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in order to lay down a methodology for the collection of statistics, establish the format for the submission of beneficial ownership information, define the technical conditions for the interconnection of beneficial ownership registers and of bank account registers and data retrieval mechanisms, define the technical conditions for the connection of the Member States' mechanisms to the single access point on land and real estate, specify the criteria and format to be used by FIUs for sharing information on suspended or prohibited transactions and on suspended accounts, adopt implementing technical standards specifying the format to be used for the exchange of the information among FIUs of the Member States and the relevant factors to be taken into account when determining if a suspicious transaction report concerns another Member State, and adopt implementing technical standards specifying a common template for the cooperation agreements between financial supervisors and their counterparts in third countries. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council. / (deleted)

Removed:Recital 92: (92) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised by the Charter, in particular the right to respect for private and family life (Article 7 of the Charter), the right to the protection of personal data (Article 8 of the Charter) and the freedom to conduct a business (Article 16 of the Charter). It does not modify the obligation to respect the fundamental rights and legal principles enshrined in Article 6 TEU.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) measures applicable to sectors exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing at Union and national level

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) access to information on beneficial ownership, bank accounts, land or real estate registers and relevant goods

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 7: (7) ‘entity operating on a cross-border basis’ means an obliged entity having at least one establishment in another Member State or in a third country, or operating under the freedom to provide services

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point 8 a (new): (8a) ‘predicate offence’ means a criminal activity as defined in Article 2, point (3), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)]

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 1: 1. Where the national risk assessment carried out by Member States pursuant to Article 8, information received from FIUs in other Member States or information from AMLA identifies that, in addition to obliged entities, entities in other sectors are exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing risks, Member States may apply the requirements of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] to those additional entities

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) the text of the national measures that the Member State intends to propose or adopt

Removed:Article 4 – title: Requirements relating to certain obliged entities

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall ensure that the procedures for licensing currency exchange, cheque cashing offices and trusts or company service providers require applicants to demonstrate a good understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing in their sector of activity. They shall also ensure that applicants have access to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing training provided in accordance with uniform and high standards by supervisory authorities, certified service providers or obliged entities that have the knowledge and expertise necessary to provide such training.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. Member States shall ensure that procedures under national law for entering regulated professions that are obliged entities as referred to in Article 3, point (3) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] require applicants to demonstrate a good understanding of the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing in their sector of activity.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 2 c (new): 2c. Member States shall ensure that estate agents as referred to in Article 3 point (3) (d) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to –Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] develop or have in place training programmes for professionals. Such training programmes may be facilitated or provided by professional associations representing estate agents and the real estate sector.

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States may require electronic money issuers as defined in Article 2(3) of Directive 2009/110/EC44, payment service providers as defined in Article 4(11) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 and crypto-assets service providers operating through an agent, a distributor or any other natural or legal person which acts on their behalf, located in the host Member State and operating under either the right of establishment or the freedom to provide services, and whose head office is situated in another Member State, to appoint a central contact point in their territory. That central contact point shall ensure, on behalf of the entity operating on a cross-border basis, compliance with AML/CFT rules and shall facilitate supervision by supervisors, including by providing supervisors with documents and information on request.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall require supervisors to verify that the members of the senior management in the obliged entities referred to in Article 4 as well as in the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (3)(a), (b), (d), (e) and (h) to (l), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)], and the beneficial owners of such entities, act with honesty and integrity. Senior management of such entities shall be of good repute and possess proven knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions. In case no management role exists in an obliged entity, those requirements applies to the person referred to in Article 9(6), second subparagraph, of Regulation ... [insert reference to AML Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)].

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall ensure that supervisors verify at regular intervals and on a risk-sensitive basis whether the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 continue to be met. In particular, they shall verify whether the senior management is of good repute, acts with honesty and integrity and possesses proven knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering or terrorist financing is being or has been committed or attempted, or there is increased risk thereof in an obliged entity

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall ensure that supervisors have the power to request the removal of any person convicted of money laundering, any of its predicate offences or terrorist financing from the management role of the obliged entities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. Supervisors shall have the power to remove or suspend members of the senior management where it is deemed that they are not of good repute, have not acted with honesty and integrity or do not possess proven knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions. In cases where no management role exists in an obliged entity, supervisors shall have the power to take adequate measures where it has been deemed that the requirements laid down in paragraph 1 are not met.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall ensure that supervisors have the power to request the suspension of any person from the management role of an obliged entity as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 or, in the case where no management role exists in an obliged entity, to take adequate measures, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering or terrorist financing is being or has been committed or attempted, or that the risk thereof could increase in connection with that obliged entity.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 5: 5. Where the person convicted of money laundering, any of its predicate offences or terrorist financing is the beneficial owner of an obliged entity referred to in paragraph 2, Member States shall ensure that such persons are disassociated from any obliged entity, including by granting supervisors the power to request the divestment of the holding by the beneficial owner in an obliged entity

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 6: 6. For the purposes of this Article, Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with their national law, supervisors or any other authority competent at national level for assessing the appropriateness of persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, check at least the existence of a relevant conviction in the criminal record of the person concerned. Any exchange of information for those purposes shall be carried out in accordance with Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA and Decision 2009/316/JHA as implemented in national law.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. Member States shall ensure that decisions taken by supervisors pursuant to this Article are subject to administrative appeal and to an effective judicial remedy.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 6 b (new): 6b. By ... [two years after the date of transposition of this Directive], AMLA shall issue guidelines on the elements to be taken into account by supervisors when assessing whether: / (a) the senior managers and the beneficial owners of obliged entities referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 act with honesty and integrity; / (b) the senior management of obliged entities referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 are of good repute and possess proven knowledge and expertise necessary to carry out their functions. / (c) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering or terrorist financing is being or has been committed or attempted, or that the risk thereof could increase in connection with that obliged entity. / When drawing up the guidelines referred to in the first subparagraph of this Paragraph, AMLA shall take into account the specificities of each sector in which the obliged entities operate and of previous guidelines issued jointly by the European Securities and Market Authority and the European Banking Authority on the assessment of the suitability of members of the management body and key function holders under Directive 2013/36/EU and Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council1a. / 1a Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349).

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 6 c (new): 6c. Member States shall ensure that supervisors or any other authority competent at national level for assessing the appropriateness of persons as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article consult the AMLA database of sanctions provided for in Article 44(2).

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: To that end, the Commission shall, by [four years after the entry into force of this Directive], draw up a report identifying, analysing and evaluating those risks at Union level. Thereafter, the Commission shall update its report every three years. The Commission may update parts of the report more frequently, if appropriate.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The report referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made public, except for those parts which contain classified information.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) the most widespread means used to launder illicit proceeds, including, where available, those particularly used in transactions between Member States and third countries, independently of the identification of a third country pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter III of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final]

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new): (ca) an assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with legal persons and legal arrangements, including the exposure to risks deriving from foreign legal persons and legal arrangements;

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) the risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 3: 3. The Commission shall make recommendations to Member States on the measures suitable for addressing the identified risks and deficiencies. Member States shall endeavour to follow those recommendations. In the event that Member States decide not to apply any of the recommendations in their national AML/CFT regimes, they shall notify the Commission thereof and provide a detailed justification stating legitimate reasons for such a decision. The Commission’s recommendations and the Member States’ decisions in response to those recommendations, including the justifications where they decide not to apply any of the recommendations, shall be made public.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 4: 4. By .. [3 years after the date of transposition of this Directive], AMLA, in accordance with article 44 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)], shall issue an opinion addressed to the Commission on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the Union. Thereafter, AMLA shall issue an opinion every two years. AMLA may issue opinions or updates of its previous opinions more frequently, where it deems it appropriate to do so. The opinions issued by AMLA shall be made public, except for those parts which contain classified information.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 5: 5. In conducting the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall organise the work at Union level, shall take into account the opinions referred to in paragraph 4 and shall involve the Member States' experts in the area of AML/CFT, representatives from national supervisory authorities and FIUs, AMLA and other Union level bodies, and other relevant stakeholders, where appropriate

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 6: 6. Within two years of the adoption of the report referred to in paragraph 1, and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the actions taken based on the findings of that report

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Each Member State shall carry out a national risk assessment to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and the risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions affecting it. It shall assess risks on a continuous basis, keep that risk assessment up to date and review it at least every three years. Member States may decide to carry out a review of that risk assessment more frequently, where they deem it appropriate to do so. In addition, they may carry out ad hoc sectoral risk assessments depending on the level of risk.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph -1 (new): Based on the identification of country-specific risks and for good reason, the Commission may require Member States to review their risk assessment earlier than provided for in the first subparagraph in order to reduce the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing in the Union.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Each Member State shall also take appropriate steps to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 2: 2. Each Member State shall designate an authority or establish a mechanism to coordinate the national response to the risks referred to in paragraph 1. The identity of that authority or the description of the mechanism shall be notified to the Commission, AMLA, Europol and other Member States. AMLA shall keep a repository of the designated authorities or established mechanisms. If a Member State establishes a mechanism, in particular to coordinate responses at regional or local level, efficient and effective coordination shall be ensured between all the authorities involved.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 3: 3. In carrying out the national risk assessments referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall take into account the methodology used by the Commission for the report referred to in Article 7(1) and the results of that report.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point a: (a) improve its AML/CFT regime, in particular by identifying any areas where obliged entities are to apply enhanced measures in line with a risk-based approach and, where appropriate, specifying the measures to be taken;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point c: (c) assess the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with each type of legal person and legal arrangement in their territory, taking into account the typical ownership and control structure of different types of legal entities including the number of layers of ownership and the type of legal entity in each layer, and have an understanding of the exposure to risks deriving from foreign legal persons and legal arrangements, in particular those which have a multi-layered control structure involving several jurisdictions;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point c a (new): (ca) identify patterns of money laundering and terrorist financing and assess trends for the associated risks at national or crossborder level;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point d: (d) decide on the allocation and prioritisation of resources to combat money laundering and terrorist financing as well as non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point f: (f) make appropriate information available promptly to competent authorities and to obliged entities to facilitate the carrying out of their own money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments as well as the assessment of risks of evasion of targeted financial sanctions referred to in Article 8 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final].

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point f a (new): (fa) assess the performance of supervisors of obliged entities;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – point f b (new): (fb) assess the performance of registers and data retrieval systems specified in this Directive and identify weaknesses to be addressed;

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1: In the national risk assessment, Member States shall describe the institutional structure and broad procedures of their AML/CFT regime, including, inter alia, the FIU, tax authorities and prosecutors, the level of European and international cooperation with regard to money laundering and terrorist financing, the whistleblower protection mechanisms as well as the allocated human and financial resources.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 a (new): Member States shall ensure appropriate participation of competent authorities and relevant stakeholders when carrying out their national risk assessment.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall make the results of their national risk assessments, including their updates and reviews, available to the Commission, to AMLA and to the other Member States. Any Member State may provide relevant additional information, where appropriate, to the Member State carrying out the national risk assessment. A summary of the results of the assessment shall be made publicly available. That summary shall not contain classified information and shall in general respect high standards of data protection. The information contained therein shall not name any natural or legal persons.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. The Commission and AMLA shall make recommendations to Member States on the measures suitable for addressing the risk identified in the national risk assessments. In the event that a Member State decides not to apply any of the recommendations in its national AML/CFT regime, it shall notify the Commission thereof and provide a justification for that decision.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) data measuring the reporting, investigation and judicial phases of the national AML/CFT regime, including the number of suspicious transaction reports made to the FIU and the value of such transactions, the follow-up given to those reports, the information on cross-border physical transfers of cash submitted to the FIU in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 together with the follow-up given to the information submitted and, on an annual basis, the number of cases investigated, the number of persons prosecuted, the number of persons convicted for money laundering or terrorist financing offences, the types of predicate offences identified in accordance with Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council45 where such information is available, and the value in euro of property that has been frozen, seized or confiscated;

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) data identifying the number of suspicious transaction reports disseminated by the FIU to competent authorities, the number and percentage of reports resulting in further investigation, together with the annual report drawn up by FIUs pursuant to Article 21

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point h a (new): (ha) the number of discrepancies reported to the central register referred to in Article 10, including measures or sanctions imposed by the entity in charge of the central register, the number of on-site and off-site inspections, types of typical discrepancies and patterns identified in the verification process by the entity in charge of the central register

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point h b (new): (hb) the following information regarding the implementation of Article 12: / (i) the number of requests to access beneficial ownership on the basis of the categories laid down in Article 12(2) / (ii) the percentage of requests for access to information which is refused under each category laid down in Article 12(2a) / (iii) a summary of the categories of persons granted access to beneficial ownership information under Article 12(2a), second subparagraph ;

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point h c (new): (hc) the information referred to in Article 19(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/1153.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall ensure that the statistics referred to in paragraph 2 are collected and transmitted to the Commission on an annual basis. The statistics referred to in paragraph 2 shall also be transmitted to AMLA

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 4: 4. By [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall adopt an opinion addressed to the Commission on the methodology for the collection of the statistics referred to in paragraph 2, points (a), (c), (d) and (f).

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 5: 5. By ... [two years and six months after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the methodology for the collection of the statistics referred to in paragraph 2 and the arrangements for their transmission to the Commission and AMLA. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 6: 6. By ... [one year after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall publish a first report based on statistics provided by Member States pursuant to Article 44 of Directive (EU) 2015/849. By … [three years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall publish a report summarising and explaining the statistics referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, based on the data collected in accordance with this Article. Thereafter, Commission shall publish a biennial report summarising and explaining the statistics referred to in paragraph 2, which shall be made publicly available on its website. Those reports shall be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph -1 (new): Member States shall also ensure that beneficial ownership information of legal entities incorporated outside the Union or of express trusts or similar legal arrangements administered outside the Union are held in the central register under the conditions laid down in Article 48 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)].

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: The beneficial ownership information contained in the central registers shall be available in machine-readable format and be collected in accordance with the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 4. Each Member State shall ensure that such beneficial ownership information is made available in the official language or languages of that Member State and in English.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1 a. Member States shall ensure that the information on the current beneficial and the information on the past beneficial owners is available in the central registers for the period set out in paragraph 12.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 2: 2. Where there are reasons to doubt the accuracy of the beneficial ownership information held by the central registers, Member States shall ensure that the entities in charge of the central registers are empowered to request from corporate and legal entities, trustees of any express trust and persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement, and their legal and beneficial owners, any information and documents necessary to identify and verify their beneficial owners, including proofs of existence and ownership, resolutions of the board of directors and minutes of their meetings, partnership agreements, trust deeds, power of attorney or other contractual agreements and documentation.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) a statement by the corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement accompanied by a legitimate justification and supporting documents, that there is no beneficial owner or that the beneficial owner(s) could not be identified and verified pursuant to Articles 42 and 43 of Regulation ... [insert reference to AML Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)], and the rules according to which profit or shares are allocated within the corporate or legal entity;

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new): Member States shall ensure that the information referred to in the first subparagraph, point (a), is available to FIUs, AMLA, competent authorities, self-regulatory bodies and obliged entities.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 4: 4. By ... [one year after the date of entry into force of this Directive] the Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the format for the submission of beneficial ownership information as referred to in article 44 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] to the central register, including a checklist of minimum requirements for information to be examined by the registrant. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 54(2).

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 – introductory part: 5. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the beneficial ownership information held in the central registers is adequate, accurate and up-to-date, and shall put in place mechanisms to that effect. For that purpose, Member States shall apply at least the following requirements:

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 – point - a (new): (-a) entities in charge of the central registers shall verify, at the time beneficial ownership information is submitted and on a regular basis thereafter, that such information is adequate, accurate and up to date.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 – point a: (a) obliged entities shall report to the entity in charge of the central registers any discrepancies they find between the beneficial ownership information available in the central registers and the beneficial ownership information available to them pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation], and shall transmit to the central register the relevant beneficial ownership information they have gathered.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 – point b: (b) competent authorities shall report to the entity in charge of the central registers any discrepancies they find between beneficial ownership information available in the central registers and the beneficial ownership information available to them.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Member States shall ensure that the entities in charge of the central registers verify whether beneficial ownership information held in the registers concerns persons or entities designated in relation to targeted financial sanctions. Such verification shall take place immediately upon the designation in relation to targeted financial sanctions and at regular intervals. The entities in charge of the beneficial ownership registers shall include specific mentions in the registers with regard to information on a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement where: / (a) a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement included in a register is subject to targeted financial sanctions; / (b) a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement included in a register is controlled by a person subject to targeted financial sanctions; / (c) a beneficial owner of a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement is subject to targeted financial sanctions; / The specific mention referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall remain available to any person or entity granted access under Articles 11 and 12 in the central register until the concerned targeted financial sanctions are removed.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 b (new): 5b. By ... [four years after the date of entry into force of this Directive] AMLA shall issue guidelines on the methods and procedures to be employed by entities in charge of central registers to verify beneficial ownership information and by obliged entities and competent authorities to identify and report discrepancies regarding beneficial ownership information.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 7: 7. Member States shall ensure that the entity in charge of the central registers takes, within 30 working days after the reporting of a discrepancy, appropriate actions to cease the discrepancies and ensure up-to-date information, including amending the information included in the central registers where the entity is able to identify and verify the beneficial ownership information. A specific mention of the fact that there are discrepancies reported shall be included in the central registers until the discrepancy is resolved and be visible to any person or entity granted access under Articles 11 and 12

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 8: 8. In the case of corporate and other legal entities, and legal arrangements where the trustee is an obliged entity as listed in Article 3, point (3)(a), (b) or (c) of Regulation [please insert reference to - proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)], Member States shall ensure that the entity in charge of the central beneficial ownership register is empowered to carry out checks, including on-site investigations at the premises or registered office of the legal entity, at the premises of relevant obliged entities as listed in Article 3, point (3)(a), (b) or (c), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to nti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] in accordance with national law and at the premises of the legal entities’ representatives in the Union, in order to establish the current beneficial ownership of the entity and to verify that the information submitted to the central register is accurate, adequate and up-to-date. The right of the central register to verify such information shall not be restricted, obstructed or precluded in any manner, and the central register shall be empowered to request information from other registers, including in other Member States and third countries, in particular through the establishment of cooperation agreements.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 8 a (new): 8a. Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers have at their disposal necessary automated technology to carry out verifications as referred to in paragraphs 5 and 5a. Those verifications shall include, in particular, cross-checking beneficial ownership information with other public and private databases to which they have access under national law for the prevention, detection or investigation of money laundering or terrorist financing, checking supporting documents referred to in paragraph 3, detecting errors and inconsistencies, identifying patterns associated with legal entities being used for illicit purposes and carrying out occasional sample testing using a risk based approach. Those verifications shall be carried out in a way that safeguards fundamental rights, includes human oversight and avoids discriminatory outcomes.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 8 b (new): 8b. Member States shall ensure that where a verification as referred to in paragraph 5 or 5a is carried out at the time of submission of beneficial ownership information, and it leads an entity in charge of a central register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in the beneficial ownership information or that the beneficial ownership information otherwise does not fulfil the requirements laid down in paragraph 5, that entity in charge of a central register is able to withhold and suspend the certification of registration until the beneficial owner information provided is in order.

Removed:<

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 8 c (new): 8c. Member States shall ensure that where a verification as referred to in paragraph 5 or 5a is carried out after the submission of beneficial ownership information, and it leads an entity in charge of a central register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in the beneficial ownership information or that the beneficial ownership information otherwise does not fulfil the requirements laid down in paragraph 5, national competent authorities ensure that the legal consequence attached to the registration does not follow until the beneficial owner information provided is in order.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 9: 9. Member States shall ensure that the entity in charge of the central register is empowered to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures or sanctions for failures to provide the register with accurate, adequate and up-to-date information about their beneficial ownership. Sanctions shall include monetary penalties. Member States shall ensure that in the event of repeated failure to provide up-to-date, accurate and adequate information, national authorities ensure that appropriate sanctions follow. In the event of repeated failures to provide up-to-date, accurate and adequate information, sanctions shall be increased to the level necessary to ensure compliance. In such event, the entity in charge of the central register shall notify the national authorities competent for imposing appropriate sanctions about the repeated failures.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 9 a (new): 9a. By ... [two years after entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards setting out indicators to classify the level of gravity of breaches and criteria for such repeated failures and submit them to the Commission for adoption. The Commission is empowered to supplement this Directive by adopting those regulatory standards in accordance with Articles 38 to 41 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)].

Removed:<

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 10: 10. Member States shall ensure that if, in the course of the checks carried out pursuant to this Article, or in any other way, the entities in charge of the beneficial ownership registers discover facts that could be related to money laundering or to terrorist financing, they shall inform the competent FIU within 48 hours of discovering such facts

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 10 a (new): 10a. Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers are operationally independent and autonomous and have the authority and capacity to carry out their functions free of political, government or industry influence or interference and that staff of such entities are of high integrity and appropriately skilled and maintain high professional standards, including standards of confidentiality and data protection and standards addressing conflicts of interest.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 10 b (new): 10 b. Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers have in place policies and procedures to ensure that their employees or managers who report breaches of the requirements set out in this Article are legally protected in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 from being exposed to threats, retaliatory or hostile action and, in particular, adverse or discriminatory employment action.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 12: 12. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be available through the national registers and through the system of interconnection of central beneficial ownership registers for at least five years and no more than 10 years after the corporate or other legal entity has been struck off from the register. Member States may, without prejudice to national criminal law on evidence applicable to ongoing criminal investigations and legal proceedings, allow or require the retention of such information or documents in concrete cases for a further maximum period of five years where the necessity and proportionality of such further retention have been established by the authorities competent for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing in accordance with applicable rules.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 12 a (new): 12a. AMLA shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of entities in charge of central beneficial ownership registers for the purposes of assessing whether such entities have in place mechanisms to fulfil the requirements set out in this Article and whether such entities carry out checks effectively in order to establish that beneficial ownership information held in the registers is accurate, adequate and up to date

Removed:Article 11 – title: General rules regarding access to beneficial ownership registers by competent authorities, self-regulatory bodies, obliged entities and AMLA

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that competent authorities have timely, unrestricted and free access to the information held in the central registers referred to in Article 10, including the interconnected central registers, without alerting the entity or arrangement concerned

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 2: 2. Access to the central registers referred to in Article 10 shall be granted to FIUs, AMLA, supervisory authorities, public authorities with designated responsibilities for combating money laundering or terrorist financing, public procurement agencies as well as tax authorities and authorities that have the function of investigating or prosecuting money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing, tracing and seizing or freezing and confiscating assets. Self-regulatory bodies shall be granted access to the registers when performing supervisory functions.

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall ensure that, when taking customer due diligence measures in accordance with Chapter III of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation], obliged entities and agents or external service providers to which tasks are outsourced in accordance with Regulation ... [please refer to AML Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)] have timely, unrestricted and free access to the information held in the interconnected central registers referred to in Article 10. / In accordance with Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the obliged entity shall remain fully liable for any action of agents or external service providers to which activities are outsourced when those agents or external service providers access the information held in the interconnected central registers referred to in Article 10. / The obliged entity shall obtain prior authorisation from the data protection supervisory authority in relation to access to a register by an agent or external service provider for the duration of the outsourcing contract between the obliged entities and the agents or external service providers. The data protection supervisory authority shall respond in a timely manner and no later than within two months. If no response is given within that time limit, access shall be deemed to have been granted. / The entity in charge of the central register shall suspend access to the register to obliged entities or agents or external service providers to which …

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 4: 4. By [3 months after the date of transposition of this Directive], Member States shall notify to the Commission the list of competent authorities and self-regulatory bodies and the categories of obliged entities that were granted access to the registers and the type of information available to obliged entities. Member States shall update such notification when changes to the list of competent authorities or categories of obliged entities. The Commission shall make the information on the access by competent authorities and obliged entities, including any change to it, available to the other Member States and AMLA.

Removed:Article 12 – title: Specific access rules to beneficial ownership registers for the persons having a legitimate interest

Removed:<

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest in accessing information on beneficial owners has access, in the central registers referred to in Article 10, including the interconnected central registers, to:

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) in the case of corporate entities, legal entities or legal arrangements, the name, month and year of birth, the country of residence and nationality of the beneficial owner, the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held, the date the beneficial owner became beneficial owner, data on the past beneficial owners, and contact details of the corporate entity, legal entity, express trust or similar legal arrangements, or contact details of the trustee or person holding an equivalent position.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) where no beneficial owner has been identified, the justification provided for there being no beneficial owner or for it not being possible to identify the beneficial owner, and the name, month and year of birth, country of residence and nationality of the natural person or persons who hold the position of senior managing official or senior managing officials in the corporate or legal entity, as referred to in Article 10(3)(b).

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2: 2. At least persons that belong to any of the following groups shall be considered to have a legitimate interest in accessing the information on beneficial owners as referred to in paragraph 1: / (a) persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media that are connected with, or that intend to carry out such activities related to, the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; / (b) civil society organisations that are connected with, or that intend to carry out activities related to, the prevention and combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; / (c) higher education institutions as defined in Article 2, point 19, of Regulation (EU) 2021/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, that carry out, or that intend to carry out, activities connected with to the prevention and combating of money laundering, or its predicate offences or terrorist financing; / (d) persons who are likely to enter into transactions or business relationships with a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangement; / (e) persons who are likely to perform a task or engage in a business relationship that requires them to assess whether a corporate entity, legal entity or legal arrangements, or its beneficial owner is subject to targeted financial sanctions; / (f) financial institutions, external agents and service providers and authorities in so far as they are …

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Members States shall ensure timely access for natural and legal persons belonging to the categories set out in paragraph 2 to information as referred to in paragraph 1 following the assessment by the authorities in charge of the central registers, such assessment to be done individually on the basis of a declaration of honour and proof of identification submitted to those authorities. If no decision on access has been communicated in writing to the person applying for access within ten days of the submission of the declaration of honour and the proof of identification, access shall be considered to have been granted and shall be given automatically. / For natural or legal person claiming legitimate interest based on grounds other than belonging to one of the categories set out in paragraph 2, access to information as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted following the assessment by the authorities in charge of the central registers as to whether the requirement for having legitimate interest is met. That assessment shall be done on a case by case basis, taking into account the grounds provided in the access request and the supporting documents. Those authorities shall take a decision to grant or refuse access in a timely manner and in any event within one month of the submission of the access request.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. A decision granting access as referred to in paragraph 2a, first subparagraph, including a decision given automatically ten days after submission of a declaration of honour and proof of identification, shall be valid for a period of at least 2,5 years. Such a decision shall be recognised as proof of having a legitimate interest in all Member States and therefore give access to information as referred to in paragraph 1 for the same period in all Member States.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 c (new): 2c. Member States may decide to automatically renew access to information granted under paragraph 2a. Natural and legal person having been granted such access shall notify authorities in charge of the central registers of any change affecting their right to access information as referred to in paragraph 1.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 d (new): 2d. In case of proven or documented abuse or ongoing judicial proceedings related to the illegal use of their systems by a person having been granted access under paragraph 2a, authorities in charge of the central registers in any of the Member States concerned may immediately suspend or revoke that person’s access to their own registers, notify the competent authorities in other Member States concerned and submit a request for suspension of access to the authority that granted the access right. Any notification or request for suspension in view of ongoing judicial proceedings shall be duly justified by the requesting competent authority. A revocation or suspension shall be communicated to the affected person in writing, through the communication channel used for the submissions referred to in paragraph1a, in a timely manner and no later than ten days from the decision to revoke or suspend. Member States shall provide for appropriate legal remedies in case of revocation or suspension of access and communicate them to the affected person.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 e (new): 2e. Member States shall provide for appropriate measures, in accordance with national law, in case of a false declaration of honour submitted to authorities in charge of the central registers for the purpose of gaining access to as referred to in paragraph 1.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 f (new): 2f. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to issue a common request form and template for the declaration of honour referred to in paragraph 2a with regard to professional qualifications, professional experience, public activity, membership in any relevant professional association or similar body, or any other valid documentation allowing for the verification that a natural or legal person belong to the categories set out in paragraph 2 as well as proof of identification such as travel or identity documents, the person identification data as defined in Article 3, point (3), of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, or any other valid documentation allowing the identification of the natural or legal person requesting access. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 54(2). / The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to specify the common format of the decision referred to in paragraph 2a, with a view to ensure mutual recognition of those decisions by the central registers in other Member States as referred to in paragraph 2b. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 54(2). / 1a Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC…

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 g (new): 2g. The information set out in paragraph 1, point (a), shall not be used, directly or indirectly, for marketing or commercial purposes, except when those purposes relate directly to the reasons why a legitimate interest in accessing information on beneficial owners has been found to exist. Member States shall make access to that information subject to a signed statement to that effect.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 h (new): 2h. Member States may choose to make beneficial ownership information held in their central registers available on the condition of authentication using electronic identification means and relevant trust services as defined in Article 3, points (2) and (16), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 910/2014 and the payment of a fee which shall not exceed the direct costs of making the information available. Where the access to beneficial ownership information is provided online or in electronic form, Member States shall not require the payment of any fees.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 i (new): 2i. Member States shall not impose legal or practical restrictions to access to information as referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of the geographical establishment or location, legal or organisational status or nationality of the natural or legal person requesting access, or of the means or conditions of authentication.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 2 j (new): 2j. Member States shall ensure that authorities in charge of the central registers keep a log of when a person accesses the register. Member States shall ensure that authorities in charge of the central registers do not monitor or keep any log regarding the specific information in the register consulted by persons having been granted access under paragraph 2a.

Removed:Article 12 a (new): Article 12a / Searches in Beneficial Ownership Register / 1. The European Central Platform shall serve as a central search service, making available all information related to beneficial ownership. / 2. Competent authorities, AMLA, self-regulatory bodies and obliged entities shall be able to make searches of beneficial ownership information as set out in Article 11 through the European Central Platform. Persons having legitimate interest pursuant to Article 12 shall be able to make searches of the beneficial ownership information as set out in Article 12 through the European Central Platform. / 3. The following harmonised search criteria shall be useable for searches referred to in paragraph 2: / (a) with regard to companies or other legal entities, trusts or similar arrangements alternatively: / (i) name of the legal entity, trust or similar arrangement; / (ii) national registration number. / (b) with regard to persons as beneficial owners alternatively: / (i) first name and surname of the beneficial owner; / (ii) month and year of birth of the beneficial owner; / (c) with regard to nominee shareholders and nominee directors first name and surname of the nominee shareholder and nominee director; / Member States may make available further search criteria in additio to the ones set out in the first subparagraph.. / 3. The European Central Platform shall allow the reporting of discrepancies as referred to in Article 10(5).

Removed:Article 13 – paragraph 1: In exceptional circumstances to be laid down in national law, where the access referred to in Articles 11(3) and 12(1) would expose the beneficial owner to disproportionate risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation, Member States may shall provide for an exemption from such access to all or part of the personal information on the beneficial owner on a case-by-case basis. Member States shall ensure that those exemptions are granted upon a detailed evaluation of the exceptional nature of the circumstances. Rights to an administrative review of the decision granting an exemption and to an effective judicial remedy shall be guaranteed. Member States shall ensure that exemptions granted are reviewed every two years. A Member State that has granted exemptions shall publish annual statistical data on the number of exemptions granted and reasons stated and report the data to the Commission.

Removed:Chapter II – Section 2 – title: Bank account and custodial crypto-asset wallet information

Removed:Article 14 – title: Bank account and custodial crypto-asset wallet registers and electronic data retrieval systems

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall put in place centralised automated mechanisms, such as a central registers or central electronic data retrieval systems, which allow the identification, in a timely manner, of any natural or legal persons holding or controlling payment accounts and bank accounts identified by IBAN, as defined by Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council47 , including virtual IBAN accounts, securities accounts and safe-deposit boxes held by a credit or financial institution within their territory, and custodial crypto-asset wallets.

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the information held in the centralised mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 is directly accessible in an immediate and unfiltered manner to national FIUs and AMLA. The information shall also be accessible in a timely manner to national competent authorities for fulfilling their obligations under this Directive and Regulation ... [add reference to AML Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)].

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) for the customer-account and securities-account holder and any person purporting to act on behalf of the customer: the name, complemented by either the other identification data required under Article 18(1) of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation] or a unique identification number

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) for the beneficial owner of the customer-account or securities-account holder: the name, complemented by either the other identification data required under Article 18(1) of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation] or a unique identification number;

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 3 – point c: (c) for the bank or payment account: the IBAN number, or an equivalent identification number, and the date of account opening and closing, where applicable;

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 3 – point d a (new): (da) for the custodial crypto-asset wallet holder and any person purporting to act on behalf of the customer: the name, complemented by either the other identification data required under article 18(1) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLR - 2021/0239(COD)] or a unique identification number;

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 3 – point d b (new): (db) for the beneficial owner of the custodial crypto-asset wallet holder: the name, complemented by either the other identification data required under article 18(1) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLR - 2021/0239(COD)] or a unique identification number.

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States may require other information deemed essential for FIUs, AMLA and other competent authorities for fulfilling their obligations under this Directive to be accessible and searchable through the centralised mechanisms.

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 6 – introductory part: 6. Member States shall ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 3 is available through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms. Member States shall take adequate measures to ensure that only the information referred to in paragraph 3 that is up to date and corresponds to the actual bank account, securities account or custodial crypto-asset wallet information is made available through their national centralised automated mechanisms and through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms referred to in this paragraph. Member States shall take adequate measures to ensure that information on holders of closed customer-accounts, bank or payment accounts, custodial crypto-asset wallets and safe-deposit boxes is made available through their national centralised automated mechanisms and through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms for a period of five years after the closure of the account or wallet. Member States may, without prejudice to national criminal law on evidence applicable to ongoing criminal investigations and legal proceedings, allow or require the retention of such information or documents in concrete cases for a further maximum period of five years where the necessity and proportionality of such further retention have been established for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing. Th…

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 7 – introductory part: 7. National FIUs and AMLA shall be granted immediate and unfiltered access to the information on payment and bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes referred in this Article in other Member States available through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms. National competent authorities shall be granted access in a timely manner to the information on payment and bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes referred in this Article in other Member States available through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms. Member States shall cooperate among themselves and with the Commission in order to implement this paragraph.

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall ensure that the staff of the national FIUs and competent authorities entitled to access to information under the first subparagraph, maintain high professional standards of confidentiality and data protection, are of high integrity and are appropriately skilled.

Removed:Article 14 – paragraph 8: 8. Member States shall ensure that technical and organisational measures are put in place to ensure the security of the data to high technological standards for the purposes of the exercise by FIUs and AMLA of the power to access and search the information available through the single access point interconnecting the centralised automated mechanisms in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 6.

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) the technical modalities to implement the different types of access to information on beneficial ownership in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of this Directive, including the authentication of users through the use of electronic identification means and relevant trust services as set out in Regulation (EU) 910/2014, in a way that ensures that there are no geographical or other restrictions preventing access to persons granted access under Article 12;

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point f: deleted

Removed:Chapter II – Section 3 – title: Access for competent authorities to information on land and real estate and certain goods

Removed:Article 16 – title: Access to land and real estate information

Removed:Article 16 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall provide competent authorities with access via a single access point in each Member State to information which allows the identification in a timely manner of any natural or legal person owning land or real estate. Access shall be granted through public registers or electronic data retrieval systems, provided that interoperability can be ensured. Where real estate is owned by a legal person or arrangement, the information on the beneficial owner shall be available, either directly in the register or retrieval system, or in the beneficial ownership register referred to in Article 10, including where the legal person is a foreign legal entity or arrangement, as required under Article 48 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)]. Competent authorities other than FIUs shall also have timely access to information allowing the identification and analysis of transactions involving land or real estate, including their economic value, the source of funds and the details of the natural or legal persons involved in those transactions including, whether the natural or legal person owns, sells or acquires land or real estate on behalf of a legal arrangement.

Removed:Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: FIUs and AMLA shall be granted direct, immediate, unrestricted and free access to the information referred to in the first subparagraph

Removed:Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. By ... [three years after the date of transposition of this Directive], Member States shall ensure that information referred to in paragraph 1 is held in a register or electronic data retrieval system in machine-readable format. That information may be collected using national systems.

Removed:Article 16 a (new): Article 16a / Implementing act for the interconnection of land and real estate single access point / 1. The Member States’ single access points referred to in Article 16(1) shall be interconnected via the European real estate data single access point (E-RED) to be developed and operated by the Commission by ... [four years after the date of entry into force of this Directive] / 2. The Commission is empowered to adopt, by means of implementing acts, technical specifications and procedures necessary to provide for the interconnection of Member States’ single access point via E-RED in accordance with Article 16 with regard to: / (a) the technical data necessary for the E-RED system to perform its functions and the method of storage, use and protection of that technical data; / (b) the common criteria according to which land and real estate information shall be available through the system of interconnection of registers and retrieval systems; / (c) the technical details on how land and real estate information shall be made available; / (d) the technical conditions of availability of services provided by the system of interconnection of registers and retrieval systems; / Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 54(2). / 3. When adopting the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall take into account proven technology and existing practices. The Commission shall ensure that the system requ…

Removed:Chapter II – Section 3 a (new) – title (new): Section 3a / Access for competent authorities to information on certain goods

Removed:Article 16 b (new): Article 16b / Access to beneficial ownership information of motor vehicles, aircrafts and watercrafts / 1. Member States shall provide competent authorities with timely access to information which allows the identification of any natural person or the beneficial owner of any legal person owning motor vehicles, aircrafts or watercrafts whose estimated value is above EUR 200 000 or the equivalent in national currency. / 2. Member States shall ensure that information referred to in paragraph 1 is available to competent authorities, either through registers or electronic data retrieval systems, where such registers or systems are available, or through other systems which are deemed as efficient, and that ensure that the data is available in a machine-readable and interoperable format. / FIUs and AMLA shall be granted direct and immediate access to the information referred to in paragraph 1 for the purpose of the prevention and combating of money laundering, any of its associated predicate offences or terrorist financing. / 3. Member States shall ensure that where the value of motor vehicles, aircrafts or watercrafts is stated or estimated above EUR 2 000 000 EUR or the equivalent in national currency, information set out in the purchase contract or other proof of transaction, including at least the identification of all parties involved in the transaction, the means of payment and the source of funds, is included and available as part of the information referred to in paragraph 1…

Removed:Article 16 c (new): Article 16c / Access to information on goods in freezones / 1. Member States shall provide competent authorities with access via a single access point in each Member State to information which allows the identification in a timely manner of any natural, legal person or legal arrangement owning any tangible movable good stored, traded or transiting in a free zone or customs warehouse in the Union, through either registers or electronic data retrieval systems, provided that interoperability can be ensured. Where those goods are owned by a legal person or arrangement, information on the beneficial owner shall be available, either directly in those registers or retrieval systems, or in the beneficial ownership register referred to in Article 10, including where the legal person is a foreign legal entity or arrangement, as required under Article 48 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation- 2021/0239 (COD)]. / 2. By ... [three years after the date of transposition of this Directive], the Member States shall ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 is held in a register or electronic data retrieval system in machine-readable format. That information may be collected using with national systems. / 3. By ... [three months after the date of transposition of this Directive], Member States shall provide the Commission a list of the competent authorities that have been granted access to the registers or systems referred to in paragraph 1…

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 1: 1. Each Member State shall establish an FIU in order to prevent, detect, report and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 2: 2. The FIU shall be the single central national unit responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transactions and other information relevant to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing submitted by obliged entities in accordance with Article 50 or reports submitted by obliged entities in accordance with Article 59(4), point (b), of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] and other information relevant to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing, as well as information by customs authorities pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. FIUs shall participate in, and contribute to, the activities of the Support and Coordination Mechanism of FIUs, in accordance with Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLA Regulation- 2021/0240 (COD)]. The FIUs shall cooperate effectively with AMLA in accordance with Article 22a of this Directive.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) a continuous strategic analysis addressing money laundering and terrorist financing trends and patterns.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2: By ...[two years after the entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall issue guidelines addressed to FIUs on the nature, features and objectives of operational and of strategic analysis and, in particular, on the need to further provide that analysis to the competent authorities responsible for combating money laundering, related predicate offences and terrorist financing.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 4 – introductory part: 4. Each FIU shall be operationally independent and autonomous, which means that it shall have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and, in accordance with paragraph 3, disseminate specific information in accordance with applicable Union law. It shall be free from any undue political, government or industry influence or interference.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall provide their FIUs with adequate financial, human and technical resources in order to fulfil their tasks. FIUs shall be able to obtain and deploy the resources needed to carry out their functions.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Member States shall ensure that the staff of their FIUs maintain high professional standards, including high professional standards of confidentiality and data protection, and be of high integrity and appropriately skilled, including in detecting biases in,and in the ethical use of, big data sets. The staff of FIUsa shall not be placed in a situation in which a conflict of interest exists or could be perceived to exist. AMLA shall adopt guidelines to specify the circumstances in which such a conflict of interest exists or could be perceived to exist.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall ensure that FIUs have rules in place governing the security and protection of personal data and confidentiality of information, including when disseminating information under paragraph 3.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 7: 7. Each Member State shall ensure that its FIU is able to make arrangements or engage independently with other domestic competent authorities pursuant to Article 45 on the exchange of information.

Removed:Article 17 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. AMLA shall coordinate the organisation of periodical peer reviews of FIUs for the purpose of assessing whether the requirements set out in this Article have been fulfilled, including having adequate financial, human and technical resources, in accordance with article 37a of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240 (COD)]. Where a peer review indicates substantial shortcomings in the operation of an FIU, AMLA shall issue recommendations to the FIU and the Member State concerned to address the shortcomings identified. The recommendations shall be transmitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

Removed:Article 17 a (new): Article 17a / Fundamental Rights Officer / 1. Every FIU shall designate a Fundamental Rights Officer. The Fundamental Rights Officer may be a member of the existing staff of the FIU who received special training in fundamental rights law and practice. / 2. The Fundamental Rights Officer shall perform the following tasks: / (a) advise the FIU where he or she deems it necessary, or on request, on activities of the FIU, which have impact on fundamental rights, without impeding or delaying those activities; / (b) support the FIU’s staff in ensuring compliance with fundamental rights; / (c) provide non-binding opinions on working arrangements relevant to his or her field of competence, with the view to enhance the FIU’s compliance with fundamental rights; / (d) inform the management about possible violations of fundamental rights in the course of the FIU’s activities; / (e) promote the FIU’s respect of fundamental rights in the performance of its tasks and activities. / 3. The FIU shall ensure that the Fundamental Rights Officer does not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of his or her tasks. This should not prevent the Fundamental Rights Officer from seeking guidance from relevant actors on the performance of his or her tasks where he or she deems it necessary. / 4. The Fundamental Rights Officer shall report directly to the management of the FIU.

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs, regardless of their organisational status, have access to the information that they require to fulfil their tasks properly, including financial, administrative and law enforcement information. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs have at least:

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part: (a) immediate and, direct access to the following financial information:

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii: deleted

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point a – point iii: (iii) information from obliged entities, including information on wire transfers;

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part: (b) immediate and, with the exception of points (ia) and (xiv), direct access to at least the following administrative information:

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i a (new): (ia) information referred to in Article 8(3a) of Council Directive 2011/16/EU1a; / 1a Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC (OJ L 064 11.3.2011, p. 1).

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii: (ii) the information from the single access point as referred to in article 16 relating to national real estate registers, land registers or electronic data retrieval systems and land and cadastral registers;

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii a (new): (iia) the information referred to in Articles 16b and 16c ;

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point b – point xix a (new): (xixa) information on public procurements or contracts

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: The information referred to in point (c) shall include criminal records, information on investigations, information on the freezing or seizure of assets, including in the context of economic or targeted financial sanctions, or on other investigative or provisional measures and information on convictions and on confiscations.

Removed:Article 18 – paragraph 2: 2. Where the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (b) and (c), is not stored in databases or registers, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that FIUs can obtain that information by other means in a timely manner.

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs respond in a timely manner, to reasoned requests for information by other competent authorities in their respective Member State or Union authorities competent for investigating or prosecuting criminal activities when such requests for information are motivated by concerns relating to money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing or when this information is necessary for the competent authority to freeze, seize or confiscate assets or to perform its tasks under this Directive. The decision on conducting the dissemination of information shall remain with the FIU.

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Where there are objective grounds for assuming that the provision of such information would have a negative impact on ongoing investigations or analyses, or, in exceptional circumstances, where disclosure of the information would be clearly disproportionate to the legitimate interests of a natural or legal person or irrelevant with regard to the purposes for which it has been requested, the FIU may refuse the request for information but only by means of a written and duly justified response. Such a response shall also be transmitted to AMLA for the purpose of identifying trends and any possible impediments to cooperation.

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 2: 2. Competent authorities shall provide feedback to the FIU about the use made of, and the usefulness of, the information provided in accordance with this Article and article 17, and about the outcome of the investigations performed on the basis of that information. Such feedback shall be provided as soon as possible and in any case, at least on an annual basis, in such a way as to inform the FIU about the actions taken by the competent authorities on the basis of the information provided by the FIU and allow the FIU to execute and improve its operational analysis function.

Removed:Article 19 a (new): Article 19a / Dissemination of information / 1. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs disseminate the results of their analyses and any additional relevant information to other competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. / 2. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs, on a case by case basis, inform competent authorities in their respective Member State, or Union authorities competent to investigate or prosecute criminal activities, where there is evidence of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing, or where that information is necessary for the competent authority to freeze, seize or confiscate assets or to perform its tasks under criminal law, unless the provision of such information would have a negative impact on ongoing investigations or analyses. / 2. The decision to disseminate information as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall remain with the FIU in question. / 4. Dissemination of information as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be conducted via secure communication channels

Removed:Article 20 – title: Suspension of or prohibition to carry out a transaction and suspension of an account

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, to suspend or prohibit a transaction that is proceeding in order to analyse the transaction, confirm the suspicion and disseminate the results of the analysis to the competent authorities and, where relevant, AMLA. In cases covered by Article 52(1) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AML Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)], such suspension shall be imposed on the obliged entity within 48 hours of receiving the suspicious transaction report. Member States shall ensure that subject to national procedural safeguards, the transaction is suspended for a period of a maximum of 15 calendar days from the day of the imposition of such suspension to the obliged entity. Member States shall ensure that such suspensions may be extended for reasons which are external to the FIU’s analysis, in particular the lack of cooperation from the obliged entity.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Where an FIU decides to suspend or prohibit a transaction that concerns another Member State, it shall promptly inform the FIU of that Member State.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. Where an FIU decides to suspend or prohibit a transaction in accordance with paragraph 1, that information shall be made available to other FIUs through FIU.net.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to use state-of-the-art technology to match their data with other FIUs’ data of suspended or prohibited transactions in an anonymous manner.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Where there is a suspicion that several transactions involving a bank account, a payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet are related to money laundering, related predicate offences or terrorist financing, Member States shall ensure that the FIU is empowered to take urgent action to suspend the business relationship or the use of a bank account, payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet in order to perform the analyses, confirm the suspicion and disseminate the results of the analysis to the competent authorities.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: Such suspension shall be imposed on the obliged entity within 48 hours of receiving the suspicious transaction report and immediately notified to the competent judicial authority. Member States shall ensure that the use of that bank or payment account is suspended for a period of a maximum of 5 days from the day of the imposition of the suspension, or for a maximum period 10 days in case the FIU receives indication about an ongoing mutual legal assistance request in cross-border cases. Member States shall ensure that any extension of such suspension shall be authorized by the competent judicial authority and notified to the concerned person in order to allow challenging the suspension before a court in accordance with paragraph 3.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The FIU shall be empowered to impose such suspension at the request of an FIU from another Member State within 48 hours, and it shall be imposed within 48 hours of the request for the suspension and under the conditions specified in the Union law and national law applicable to the FIU receiving the request. Member States shall ensure that, subject to national procedural safeguards, the bank or payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet is suspended for a maximum period of five calendar days from the day of the imposition of such suspension to the obliged entity, or for a maximum period of 10 days in the event that the FIU receives indication about an ongoing mutual legal assistance request in cross-border cases.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 b (new): Member States shall ensure that any extension of such suspension be authorized by the competent judicial authority and notified to the concerned person in order to allow challenging the suspension before a court in accordance with paragraph 3.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Where an FIU decides to suspend the use of a bank or payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet that concerns another Member State, it shall promptly inform the FIU of that Member State.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. Where an FIU decides to suspend a bank or payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet in accordance with paragraph 1, that information shall be made available to other FIUs through FIU.net.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 2 c (new): 2c. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are able to use state-of-the-art technology to match their data with other FIUs’ data of suspended banks, payment accounts or crypto-asset wallets in an anonymous manner.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose bank account, payment account or custodial crypto-asset wallet is suspended to challenge the suspension before a court in accordance with procedures provided for in national law.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. FIUs shall be empowered to monitor, during a specified period, the transactions or activities that are being carried out through one or more identified bank accounts or other business relationships with regard to persons who present a significant risk of money laundering or terrorist financing. FIUs shall be empowered to give instructions to obliged entities in order to ensure that obliged entities carry out such specific monitoring and report the results to the competent FIU.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. The FIU shall be empowered to impose the monitoring measures referred to in paragraph 3a at the request of an FIU from another Member State for the periods and under the conditions specified in the Union law and national law applicable to the FIU receiving the request.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 3 c (new): 3c. When an FIU imposes the suspensions or a monitoring measure referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3a at the request of an FIU from another Member State, the requesting FIU shall be informed promptly about the measures taken by the FIU that received the request.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 4: 4. FIUs shall be empowered to impose the suspensions and monitoring measures referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3a, directly or indirectly, at the request of an FIU from a third country under the conditions specified in the national law of the FIU receiving the request.

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. By ... [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall develop draft implementing technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft implementing technical standards shall specify the format to be used for the exchange of the information referred to in paragraphs 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b of this Article and set the criteria for determining whether a suspension concerns another Member State. The Commission is empowered to adopt those implementing technical standards in accordance with Article 42 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA regulation - 2021/0240 (COD)].

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new): (aa) follow up given by the FIU to suspicious transactions reports it has received;

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new): (ca) feedback received from competent authorities

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new): (ea) requests submitted to and received from competent authorities designated under Article 3 of Directive 2019/1153;

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 1 – point e b (new): (eb) human resources allocated.

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: FIUs shall disseminate the report to obliged entities. Such report shall be made public at the date of its dissemination, except for the elements of the report which contain classified information. The information contained therein shall not permit the identification of any natural or legal person.

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs provide obliged entities with feedback on the reports of suspected money laundering or terrorist financing at least twice a year. FIUs shall provide feedback on operational and strategic analysis. Such feedback shall cover at least the quality of the information provided, how the information was used, the timeliness of reporting, the description of the suspicion, the documentation provided at submission stage and potential money laundering or terrorist financing typologies not covered by the obliged entity’s report.

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: The FIU shall provide feedback at least once per year to each category of obliged entity as referred to in Article 3, points (1), (2) and (3)(f), (g), (h) and (k), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)].

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The FIU shall provide a comparative analysis on the quality of suspicious transaction reports by category of obliged entities referred to in Article 3, point (3) points (a)-(e), (i), (j) and (l), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)], taking into consideration the overall number of suspicious transactions reported by those obliged entities.

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2: Such feedback, including a comparative assessment between obliged entities and groups or categories of obliged entities, shall also be sent to supervisors to allow them to perform risk-based supervision in accordance with Article 31.

Removed:Article 21 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 a (new): FIUs shall provide, at least annually, to all obliged entities within their jurisdiction strategic feedback about financial intelligence priorities and trends in money laundering and terrorist financing.

Removed:Article 22 – paragraph 1: Member States shall ensure that FIUs cooperate with each other and with their counterparts in third countries to the greatest extent possible and in a timely manner, regardless of their organisational status. To that end, they shall provide effective arrangements for cross-border and international cooperation.

Removed:Article 22 – paragraph 1 a (new): Member States shall provide their FIUs with adequate financial, human and technical resources in order to ensure effective and efficient cooperation.

Removed:Article 22 a (new): Article 22a / Cooperation with AMLA / Member States shall ensure that FIUs participate in, and contribute to, the activities of AMLA in accordance with the provisions of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)].

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 1: 1. A system for the exchange of information between FIUs of the Member States shall be set up (FIU.net) without delay. The system shall ensure a secure communication and exchange of information and shall be capable of producing a written record under conditions that allow ascertaining authenticity. If so decided by AMLA, that system may also be used for communications with FIUs counterparts in third countries and with other authorities and Union bodies. FIU.net shall be managed by AMLA. The system shall serve as a centralised information exchange hub between FIUs and AMLA.

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Member States shall ensure that FIUs exchange information pursuant to Article 24 and 25 using the FIU.net. In the event of temporary technical failure of the FIU.net, the information shall be transmitted without any delay through equivalent protected channels of communication ensuring a high level of data security and data protection, in accordance with criteria identified by AMLA by means of guidelines.

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall ensure that, in order to fulfil their tasks as laid down in this Directive and in applicable Union law, their FIUs participate, use and cooperate to the maximum extent in the application of state-of-the-art technologies, in particular those developed and managed by AMLA in accordance with Article 5(5), point (e), and Article 37 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240 (COD)].

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs are able to use FIU.net for the purpose of matching their data with data of other FIUs in an anonymous manner. Member States shall ensure that their FIUs are able to use FIU.net for the purposes of matching subject-matter data with Europol databases.

Removed:Article 23 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. Following a peer review in accordance with Article 17(7a), AMLA may suspend access to FIU.net for a specific FIU where the report of the peer review concludes that requirements relating to the independence, integrity, professionalism, confidentiality or security of that FIU, as set out in Article 17, have not been fulfilled. The decision to impose such suspension shall be taken by the General Board of AMLA in accordance with the the provisions referred to in Article 27(5a) of Regulation [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240 (COD)] with the affected FIU not having the right to vote. AMLA shall issue an assessment with the decision which explains and indicates the follow-up measures to be complied with in order for the suspension to be lifted. AMLA shall evaluate the actions taken by the FIU concerned no later than three months after issuing the decision.

Removed:Article 23 a (new): Article 23a / Transmission of information by obliged entities to FIUs via FIU.net / 1. AMLA shall ensure that obliged entities are able to use FIU.net to submit suspicious transaction and activity reports to FIUs concerned, in accordance with this Article, through protected channels of communication. / 2. By ... [five years after entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall ensure that obliged entities are able to use FIU.net to transmit information referred to in Article 50 (1) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLR - 2021/0239 (COD)] to the FIU of the Member State in whose territory the obliged entity transmitting the information is established and to any other FIU which is concerned by such report pursuant to Article 24(1) of this Directive. By the same date, Member States shall ensure that FIUs may request obliged entities to transmit the information referred to in Article 50(1) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLR - 2021/023940 (COD)] through FIU.Net, until its use becomes mandatory under paragraph 3. / 3. Member States shall ensure that transmission of information as referred to in paragraph 2 becomes mandatory for obliged entities by ... [six years after entry into force of this Directive].

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs exchange, spontaneously or upon request, any information that may be relevant for the processing or analysis of information by the FIU related to money laundering, its predicate offences, or terrorist financing, and the natural or legal person involved, regardless of the type of predicate offences that may be involved, and even if the type of predicate offences that may be involved is not identified at the time of the exchange.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 2: 2. By ... [2 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall develop draft implementing technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft implementing technical standards shall specify the format to be used for the exchange of the information referred to in paragraph 1 and shall determine the relevant factors to be taken into consideration when determining whether a report pursuant to Article 50(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)] concerns another Member State, the procedures to be put in place when forwarding and receiving that report, and the necessary follow-up.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 4: deleted

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: When an FIU seeks to obtain additional information from an obliged entity established in another Member State which operates on the territory of its Member State, the request shall be addressed to the FIU of the Member State in whose territory the obliged entity is established. That FIU shall obtain information in accordance with Article 50(1) of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] and transfer the answers promptly. Obliged entities shall provide information to their respective competent FIUs which shall then forward the requested information to the requesting FIU.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall ensure that where an FIU is requested to provide information pursuant to paragraph 1, it shall respond to the request and provide the requested information as soon as possible and in any case no later than seven days after the receipt of the request. In exceptional, duly justified cases, this time limit may be extended to a maximum of 14 calendar days. Where the requested FIU is unable to obtain the requested information, it shall inform the requesting FIU thereof.

Removed:Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 a (new): By ... [18 months after the date of transposition of this Directive], the Commission shall publish a report outlining notifications of exceptional circumstances referred to in the first subparagraph. The Commission shall publish additional reports in case of updates to those notifications. The Commission shall assess in that report whether or not the exceptional circumstances notified are justified.

Removed:Article 25 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) a number of FIUs are conducting operational analyses in which the circumstances of the case justify or merit coordinated, concerted action in the Member States involved.

Removed:Article 25 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new): (ba) an FIU deems it appropriate and useful for the purposes of ensuring that a specific analysis and the results thereof are of better quality, exploiting potential synergies and the possibility of using information from different sources, or obtaining comprehensive information concerning the anomalous activities underlying that specific analysis.

Removed:Article 25 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: A request for the setting up of a joint analysis team may be made by any of the FIUs concerned or AMLA, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 3a.

Removed:Article 25 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Provided that no FIU has submitted a request for the setting up of a joint analysis team, AMLA may set up such a team on its own initiative where it identifies cases in which: / (a) an FIU’s operational analyses require difficult and demanding analyses having links with other Member States; / (b) a number of FIUs are conducting operational analyses where the circumstances necessitate coordinated, concerted action in the Member States involved; / (c) it has received information indicating a suspicion of money laundering or financing of terrorism that could affect the internal market or relate to cross-border activities.

Removed:Article 27 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the requested FIU’s prior consent to disseminate the information to competent authorities is granted promptly and to the largest extent possible, regardless of the type of predicate offences and whether or not the predicate offence has been identified. The requested FIU shall not refuse its consent to such dissemination unless this would fall beyond the scope of application of its AML/CFT provisions or could lead to impairment of an investigation, or would otherwise not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law of that Member State. Any such refusal to grant consent shall be appropriately explained. The cases where FIUs may refuse to grant consent shall be specified in a way which prevents misuse of, and undue limitations to, the dissemination of information to competent authorities.

Removed:Article 27 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. By ... [one year after the date of transposition of this Directive], Member States shall notify to the Commission the exceptional circumstances in which dissemination would not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law referred to in paragraph 2. Member States shall update such notifications where the exceptional circumstances in which dissemination would not be in accordance with fundamental principles of national law change.

Removed:Article 27 – paragraph 2 b (new): 2b. By ... [18 months after the date of transposition of this Directive], the Commission shall publish a report outlining the notifications of exceptional circumstances referred to in the paragraph 2a. The Commission shall publish additional reports in case of updates to those notifications. The Commission shall assess in those reports whether the notified exceptional circumstances are justified or not.

Removed:Article 27 a (new): Article 27a / Transmission of information to EPPO / Where there are grounds to suspect money laundering or its associated predicate offences in respect of which the EPPO could exercise its competence or has exercised its competence in accordance with Article 22 or Article 25(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/19391a, Member States shall ensure that the FIU disseminates the following information in accordance with the principles laid down in that Regulation: / (a) relevant information; and / (b) the results of its analyses. / 1a Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1).

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that all obliged entities are subject to adequate, effective and independent supervision. To that end, Member States shall appoint supervisors to monitor effectively, and to take the measures necessary to ensure, compliance by the obliged entities with the requirements set out in Regulations ... [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] and ... [please insert reference to the Funds Transfer Regulation - 2021/0241(COD) ] and with the requirement to implement targeted financial sanctions. Where Member States have more than one supervisor, they shall appoint one leading supervisor in order to ensure proper coordination.

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Supervisors shall participate in, and contribute to, the activities of the European AML/CFT Supervisory system, in accordance with Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)]. They shall in particular: / (a) participate in joint supervisory teams as an integral part of their tasks, as well as in other activities undertaken by AMLA pursuant to its mandate; / (b) provide AMLA with the data and information required to fulfil its tasks, as well as to implement measures taken by AMLA in accordance with Regulation ... [please insert reference to the AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)] and other applicable Union law. / All information obtained by supervisors through the participation in AMLA´s activities shall be covered by the strictest confidentiality.

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 3: 3. In the case of the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (3)(a) and (b), of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final], Member States may allow the function referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to be performed by self-regulatory bodies, provided that those self-regulatory bodies have the powers referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article and have adequate financial, human and technical resources to perform their functions. Member States shall ensure that staff of those bodies are of high integrity and appropriately skilled, and that they maintain high professional standards, including standards of confidentiality, data protection and standards addressing conflicts of interest

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. By ... [two years after the date of transposition of this Directive], AMLA shall, after consulting EBA, issue guidelines addressed to supervisors on the fulfilment of the requirements laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3.

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 4 – point g: (g) to respond without undue delay to any suspicion of non-compliance with applicable requirements on the part of supervised obliged entities and take appropriate supervisory measures to address any breaches of applicable requirements by the obliged entities identified in the process of supervisory assessments and follow up on the implementation of such measures

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 4 – point g a (new): (ga) to take appropriate supervisory measures to address allegations of breaches of applicable requirements following public revelations, or information brought to their knowledge through private channels, in particular through the mechanisms provided for in Article 43.

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 2 – point e: (e) any guidance and report produced by AMLA, the European Data Protection Board and other supervisors and, where relevant, the public authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies, the FIU or any other competent authority or international organisations and standard setters regarding money laundering and terrorist financing methods which might apply to a sector and indications which may facilitate the identification of transactions or activities at risk of being linked to money laundering and terrorist financing in that sector, as well as on obliged entities’ obligations in relation to targeted financial sanctions.

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 6 a (new): 6a. Member States shall ensure that supervisors and self-regulatory bodies, prepare a detailed annual activity report and that a summary of that report is made publicly available. That summary shall not contain confidential information. That summary shall include: / (a) details of the supervisors’ tasks; / (b) an overview of the supervisory activities; / (c) the number of on-site and off-site supervisory actions; and / (d) the number of breaches identified on the basis of supervisory actions and sanctions or administrative measures applied by supervisory authorities and self-regulatory bodies pursuant to Section 4 of Chapter IV. / The supervisor and self-regulatory body that prepares an annual activity report referred to in the first subparagraph shall transmit that report to the designated authority or mechanism referred to in Article 8(2) and to AMLA. The designated authority shall provide feedback and propose possible improvements which may include recommendations to change the allocation of supervisory responsibilities and the arrangements for carrying out supervisory tasks.

Removed:Article 31 a (new): Article 31a / List of credit and financial institutions under enhanced supervision and customer due diligence / 1. Financial supervisors shall include specific credit or financial institutions on a list of credit and financial institutions under enhanced supervision where, following supervisory activities referred to in Article 29, points (c ), (e), (f) and (g), financial supervisors identify serious and structural weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the application of AML/CFT rules by those credit and financial institutions under their supervision. / 2. When applying the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, financial supervisors shall take into account the rules and principles of risk-based supervision laid down in Article 31, in particular the benchmarks and a methodology for assessing and classifying the inherent and residual risk profile of obliged entities and the guidelines on the characteristics of a risk-based approach to supervision. / 3. Financial supervisors shall inform credit and financial institutions of their inclusion on the list referred to in paragraph 1 prior to their inclusion through a reasoned communication. Financial supervisors shall also communicate to the credit or financial institution concerned the measures they will put in place in order to address the weaknesses identified within a specific timeframe. / 4. Financial supervisors shall promptly inform AMLA and national non-AML/CFT supervisors of the measures taken under paragraph 1. Fi…

Removed:Article 32 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that if, in the course of the checks carried out on the obliged entities, or in any other way, supervisors discover facts that could be related to money laundering or to terrorist financing, they shall promptly inform the FIU if the obliged entity itself would have been obligated to report the suspicious transaction in accordance with Articles 50 and 51 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AML Regulation - 2021/0239(COD)]

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 2: 2. In addition to the obligations laid down in Article 5, obliged entities wishing to exercise the freedom to provide services by carrying out activities within the territory of another Member State for the first time shall notify the supervisors of the home Member State of the activities which they intend to carry out. Those supervisors shall, within three months of the receipt of that information, communicate it to the supervisors of the host Member State. Such notification shall also be required where provision of cross-border services is carried out by agents of the obliged entity or through any natural or legal person which acts on their behalf. It shall not apply to obliged entities that, pursuant to other Union legal acts, are subject to specific notification procedures for the exercise of the freedom of establishment and to provide services.

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 4 – introductory part: 4. In the cases covered by paragraph 2 of this Article and Article 5, supervisors of the host Member State shall cooperate with supervisors of the home Member State and lend assistance to ensure the verification of compliance by the obliged entity with the requirements of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] and of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for a recast of Regulation (EU) 2015/847 - COM/2021/422 final] and to take appropriate, proportionate, effective and dissuasive measures to address breaches

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1: In the cases covered by Article 5, the supervisors of the host Member State shall be allowed at their own initiative to take appropriate, proportionate, effective and dissuasive measures to address serious failings that require immediate remedies and shall promptly inform the supervisor of the home Member State.Those measures shall be temporary and be terminated when the failings identified are addressed, including with the assistance of or in cooperation with the supervisors of the home Member State of the obliged entity.

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. By ... [two years after the date of transposition of this Directive], AMLA shall, issue guidelines on the criteria for identifying serious failings that require immediate action, and the measures that may be required from host supervisors to address such failings.

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 5: 5. Where the supervisors of the home and host Member State disagree on the measures to be taken in relation to an obliged entity, each of them may refer the matter to AMLA and request its assistance in accordance with Articles 5 and 10 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering Authority - COM/2021/421 final]. AMLA shall provide its advice on the matter of disagreement within one month and settle the disagreement on the matter by means of a binding instruction pursuant to Article XX(X) of that Regulation.

Removed:Article 34 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: AMLA may act in accordance with the powers conferred on it under Articles 5 and 10 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering Authority - COM/2021/421 final]. When doing so, AMLA shall provide its opinion on the subject-matter of the request within one month and settle the disagreement on the matter by means of a binding instruction pursuant to Article XX(X) of that Regulation.

Removed:Article 34 – paragraph 6: deleted

Removed:Article 34 a (new): Article 34a / Supervision of groups of obliged entities other than credit or financial institutions / 1. Member States shall ensure that the provisions of Article 34 also apply to non-financial supervisors in cases of supervision of groups of obliged entities other than credit or financial institutions, except where AMLA excercises direct supervision in accordance with Article 5(2) of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240(COD)]. Member States shall also ensure that in cases where obliged entities other than credit and financial institutions are part of structures which share common ownership, management or compliance control, including networks or partnerships, cooperation and exchange of information between financial and non-financial supervisors is facilitated. / 2. By ... [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall, after consultating supervisors and authorities overseeing self-regulatory bodies, develop draft regulatory technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall: / (a) establish criteria to identify groups of obliged entities other than credit or financial institutions which are part of structures which operate cross borders and share common ownership, management or compliance control, including networks or partnerships; / (b) detail the respective duties of the home and host supervisors, and the modalities of cooperation between them…

Removed:Article 35 – paragraph 1: Supervisors, including AMLA and non-AML/CFT authorities shall inform each other of instances in which the law of a third country does not permit the implementation of the policies, controls and procedures required under Article 13 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final]. In such cases, coordinated actions may be taken by supervisors to pursue a solution, if they deem it necessary. In assessing which third countries do not permit the implementation of the policies, controls and procedures required under Article 13 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final], supervisors shall take into account any legal constraints that may hinder proper implementation of those policies and procedures, including professional secrecy, an insufficient level of data protection and other constraints limiting the exchange of information that may be relevant for that purpose.

Removed:Chapter IV – Section 2 – title: Specific provisions applicable to the financial and non-financial sector

Removed:Article 36 – title: AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the financial sector

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The supervisory activities of AML/CFT supervisory colleges shall be proportionate to the level of risk posed by the credit or financial institution and the scale of its cross-border activity. AML/CFT supervisory colleges may adjust the programme of supervisory activities within the college on a risk-sensitive basis.

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 5: 5. AMLA shall attend the meetings of the AML/CFT supervisory colleges and shall facilitate their work in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering Authority - COM/2021/421 final]. AMLA shall have the power to intervene where disagreements arise between supervisors participating in the AML/CFT supervisory colleges and to settle the disagreement on the matter by means of a binding instruction pursuant to Article XX(X) of that Regulation.

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Financial supervisors in third countries may be allowed to participate in AML/CFT supervisory colleges, in particular in AML/CFT supervisory colleges established under paragraph 1, point (b), provided that: / (a) there is a request for participation; / (b) Union data protection rules concerning data transfers apply; / (c) participation is on the basis of reciprocity; / (d) the information disclosed is subject to a guarantee of professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to that referred to in Article 50(1) and is used solely for the purpose of performing the supervisory tasks of the participating financial supervisors. / AMLA shall assess whether financial supervisors in third countries fulfil the conditions laid down in the first subparagraph and shall decide on the participation of financial supervisors in third countries in AML/CFT supervisory colleges.

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 6 – introductory part: 6. By [2 year after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall specify the general conditions for the functioning of the AML/CFT supervisory colleges on a risk sensitive basis including the terms of cooperation between participants, and the operational functioning of such colleges. They shall further specify requirements for the participation of financial supervisors in third countries. Prior to the submission of those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission, AMLA shall consult with the European Data Protection Board on the data protection rules which apply to data transferred to financial supervisors in third countries.

Removed:Article 36 a (new): Article 36a / AML/CFT supervisory colleges in the non-financial sector / 1. Member States shall ensure that non-financial supervisors participate in dedicated AML/CFT supervisory colleges that are established pursuant to article 31a of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240 (COD)] in any of the following situations: / (a) where an obliged entity as referred to in Article 3, point (3), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)] has set up establishments or provides services in at least three different Member States other than the Member State where it is established and has an annual EU-wide turnover of at least EUR 200 million; / (b) where an obliged entity as referred to in Article 3, point (3), of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - 2021/0239 (COD)] is a third-country entity that operates in at least four Member States and has an annual EU-wide turnover of at least EUR 200 million. / 2. The supervisory activities of AML/CFT supervisory colleges shall be proportionate to the level of risk posed by the obliged entity and the scale of its cross-border activity. AML/CFT supervisory colleges may adjust the programme of supervisory activities within the college on a risk-sensitive basis. / 3. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, following a decision in accordance with Article 31a of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation …

Removed:Article 37 – title: Cooperation with supervisors in third countries

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall authorise supervisors to conclude cooperation agreements providing for collaboration and exchanges of confidential information with their counterparts in third countries. Such cooperation agreements shall comply with applicable data protection rules and be concluded on the basis of reciprocity and subject to a guarantee of professional secrecy requirements at least equivalent to that referred to in Article 50(1). Confidential information exchanged in accordance with those cooperation agreements shall be used for the purpose of performing the supervisory tasks of those authorities only.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Where the information exchanged originates in another Member State, it shall only be disclosed with the explicit consent of the supervisor which shared it and, where appropriate, solely for the purposes for which that supervisor gave its consent.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 2: 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, AMLA shall assess the equivalence of professional secrecy requirements applicable to the third country counterpart.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall ensure that supervisors notify any agreement signed pursuant to this Article to AMLA within one month of its signature. AMLA shall develop draft implementing technical standards specifying a common template for the cooperation agreements referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission is empowered to adopt those implementing technical standards in accordance with Article 42 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to AMLA Regulation - 2021/0240 (COD).

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 1: 1. Where Member States decide, pursuant to Article 29(3), to allow self-regulatory bodies to perform supervision of the entities referred to in Article 3, points (3)(a), and (b), of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final], they shall ensure that the activities of such self-regulatory bodies in the performance of such functions are subject to oversight by a public authority.

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The public authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies shall be operationally independent and autonomous and shall carry out its functions free of political, government or industry influence or interference. Staff of those public authorities shall be of high integrity and appropriately skilled, including in detecting biases in, and in the ethical use of, big data sets, and shall maintain high professional standards, including standards of confidentiality, of data protection and of addressing conflicts of interest.

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. The authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies shall be responsible for ensuring that self regulatory bodies as a minimum fulfil their legal obligations stemming from Union legal acts and from national legislation transposing Union legal acts, including by:

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) ensuring that self-regulatory bodies perform their functions under Section 1 of this Chapter to the highest standards and that, in particular, self-regulatory bodies perform the tasks laid down in Article 29(4);

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall ensure that the authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies is granted adequate powers to discharge its responsibilities under paragraph 2. In particular, Member States shall ensure that the authority has the power to:

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) compel the production of any information that is relevant to monitoring compliance and performing checks, except for any information collected by obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (3)(a), and (b), of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] in the course of ascertaining the legal position of their client, subject to the conditions laid down in that Regulation, or for performing the task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings; whether such information was collected before, during or after such proceedings;

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) issue instructions to a self-regulatory body for the purpose of remedying a failure to perform its functions under Article 29(1) or to comply with the requirements of paragraph 5 and 6 of that Article, or to prevent any such failures. When issuing such instructions, the authority shall consider any relevant guidance it provided or that has been provided by AMLA.

Removed:Article 39 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. In the event of a breach of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final], Member States shall ensure that where obligations apply to a legal person, administrative sanctions and measures can be applied to its senior management and to other natural persons who under national law are responsible for the breach.

Removed:Article 39 – paragraph 5 – point g a (new): (ga) repeated similar breaches by the natural or legal person held responsible.

Removed:Article 39 – paragraph 6: 6. In the exercise of their powers to impose administrative sanctions and measures, supervisors shall cooperate closely and, where relevant, coordinate their actions with non-AML/CFT authorities, in order to ensure that those administrative sanctions or measures produce the desired results and coordinate their action when dealing with cross-border cases.

Removed:Article 39 – paragraph 7 – introductory part: 7. By [2 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], AMLA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards and submit them to the Commission for adoption. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall define indicators to classify the level of gravity of breaches and criteria to be taken into account when setting the level of administrative sanctions or taking administrative measures pursuant to this Section and the consequences in the event of repeated breaches. Those draft regulatory technical standards shall also include ranges of pecuniary sanctions relative to the turnover of the entity in breach that shall be applied in accordance with the indicators to assess the level of gravity of the breach as references for effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, including in cases of repeated breaches.

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) Section 1 of Chapter II (internal policies, controls and procedures of obliged entities).

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) in the case of a legal person, maximum administrative pecuniary sanctions of at least EUR 10 000 000 or 15 % of the total global annual turnover according to the latest available accounts approved by the management body, whichever is higher, where the obliged entity is a parent undertaking or a subsidiary of a parent undertaking which is required to prepare consolidated financial accounts in accordance with Article 22 of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council49, the relevant total annual turnover shall be the total global annual turnover or the corresponding type of income in accordance with the relevant accounting regime according to the last available consolidated accounts approved by the management body of the ultimate parent undertaking;

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall ensure that a legal person can be held liable for breaches as referred to in paragraph 1 where the breach has been committed for its benefit by any natural person, acting individually or as part of a body of that legal person that has a leading position within that legal person based on any of the following: / (a) power to represent that legal person; / (b) authority to take decisions on behalf of that legal person; / (c) authority to exercise control within that legal person.

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. Member States shall ensure that a legal person can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control by natural persons referred to in paragraph 4a of this Article has made possible the commission by a person under their authority of the breaches referred to in Article 40(1) for the benefit of that legal person.

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that supervisors are able to impose administrative measures other than sanctions on an obliged entity where they identify breaches of requirements of the Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] either in combination with administrative sanctions or, in cases which are not deemed sufficiently serious to be punished with an administrative sanction, alone. Member States shall ensure that the supervisors are able at least to:

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) order obliged entities to comply, including to implement specific corrective measures, within a concrete and reasonable timeline;

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) where an obliged entity is subject to an authorisation, withdraw or suspend the authorisation or propose the imposition of these or similar measures where the corresponding powers rest with another authority;

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) impose a temporary ban against any person discharging managerial responsibilities in an obliged entity, or any other natural person, held responsible for the breach, from exercising managerial functions in obliged entities, or propose the imposition of such measure or a removal of the person from a function within the obliged entity where the corresponding powers rest with another authority.

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) request an ad-hoc or regular submission of any document necessary for the performance of their tasks, including those to justify the process of implementation of the requested administrative measures without undue delay;

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that a decision imposing an administrative sanction or measure for breach of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] shall be published by the supervisors on their official website in an accessible format, in the official language of the Member State in question and in English, immediately after the person sanctioned is informed of that decision and it is no longer subject to internal review. The publication shall include at least information on the type and nature of the breach and the identity of the persons responsible and whether the decision is subject to appeal. Member States shall not be obliged to apply this subparagraph to decisions imposing measures that are of an investigatory nature.

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point c – point ii: (ii) the proportionality of the publication of the decision with regard to the damage to the obliged entity or to measures which are deemed to be of a minor nature.

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 3: 3. Supervisors or other competent authorities shall ensure that any publication in accordance with this Article shall remain on their official website for a period of five years after its publication. However, personal data contained in the publication shall only be kept on the official website of the competent authority for the period which is necessary in accordance with the applicable data protection rules and in any case for no more than 5 years.

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Member States shall ensure that supervisors draw up a report on an annual basis containing relevant statistical information on the sanctions issued and measures taken. That report shall contain a summary of the breaches sanctioned and the amounts of fines. The report shall be made public.

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 4: deleted / (deleted) / (deleted) / (deleted)

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 5: deleted

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall ensure that supervisory authorities, FIUs, as well as, where applicable, self-regulatory bodies, establish effective and reliable mechanisms to encourage the reporting of potential and actual breaches of the national provisions transposing this Directive and of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final].

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: For that purpose, they shall provide one or more secure communication channels for the reporting referred to in the first subparagraph. Such channels shall ensure that the identity of persons providing information is encrypted and known only to the supervisory authority, or, where applicable, self-regulatory body. Where reporting relates to potential or actual breaches by employees or the management body of the supervisory authorities or, where applicable, self-regulatory body, the identity of the persons providing information should only be known by the specific body responsible for receiving reports.

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) specific procedures for the receipt of reports on breaches by both anonymous and non-anonymous individuals and their follow-up;

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) appropriate protection as well as access to legal and financial advice for employees, board members, shareholders, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, trainees and former workers or persons in a comparable position, of obliged entities who report breaches committed within the obliged entity, and for any individual who has independent knowledge or who after independent evaluation of publicly-available information provides information to the competent authorities;

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 2 – point e: (e) clear rules that ensure that confidentiality is guaranteed in all cases in relation to the person who reports the breaches committed within the obliged entity, supervisor or, where applicable, self-regulatory body, unless disclosure is required by national law in the context of further investigations or subsequent judicial proceedings.

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall ensure that individuals, including employees and representatives of the obliged entity or competent authorities or of supervisory authorities or self-regulatory bodies who report potential or actual breaches of the national provisions transposing this Directive or Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final], as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, are legally protected in accordance with Directive EU 2019/1937 from being exposed to threats, retaliatory or hostile action, and in particular from adverse or discriminatory employment actions.

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall ensure that individuals who are exposed to threats, hostile actions, or adverse or discriminatory employment actions for reporting potential or actual breaches of the national provisions transposing this Directive or Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] internally or to the mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 are entitled to present a complaint in a safe manner to the respective competent authorities. Without prejudice to the confidentiality of information gathered by the FIU, Member States shall also ensure that such individuals have the right to effective remedy to safeguard their rights under this paragraph.

Removed:Article 44 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that their supervisors and, where relevant, the national authority overseeing self-regulatory bodies in their performance of supervisory functions inform AMLA, and, where relevant, the FIUs of the Member States concerned, of all administrative sanctions and measures imposed in accordance with this Section, including of any appeal in relation thereto and the outcome thereof. Such information shall also be shared with other supervisors when the administrative sanction or measure concerns an entity operating in two or more Member States.

Removed:Article 44 – paragraph 2: 2. AMLA shall maintain a database on its website with information on the sanctions applied per obliged entity and links to each supervisor's publication of administrative sanctions and measures imposed in accordance with Article 42, and shall show the time period for which each Member State publishes administrative sanctions and measures.

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that policy makers, the FIUs, supervisors, and other competent authorities, as well as law enforcement authorities and tax authorities have effective mechanisms to enable them to cooperate and coordinate domestically and at Union level concerning the development and implementation of policies and activities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to prevent the non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions, including with a view to fulfilling their obligations under Article 8.

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Member States shall ensure that policy makers, the FIUs, supervisors and other competent authorities have effective mechanisms to enable them to cooperate with AMLA, Europol, Eurojust and EPPO under the applicable Union law concerning the development and implementation of policies and activities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to prevent the non-implementation and evasion of targeted financial sanctions.

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. With regard to targeted financial sanctions, Member States shall ensure that FIUs, supervisors, competent authorities in charge of the registers pursuant to Chapter II, competent authorities in charge of targeted financial sanctions, authorities in charge of tracing and seizing or freezing and confiscating assets and other competent authorities have effective mechanisms in place to exchange information with regard to compliance, supervision and enforcement of targeted financial sanctions, including for the purpose of collecting, processing and disclosing relevant data relating to persons subject to targeted financial sanctions.

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States shall not prohibit or place unreasonable or unduly restrictive conditions on the exchange of information or assistance between competent authorities, supervisors and non-AML/CFT authorities for the purposes of this Directive. Member States shall ensure that competent authorities supervisors and non-AML/CFT authorities do not refuse a request for assistance on the grounds that:

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 3 – point c: (c) there is an analysis, inquiry, investigation or proceeding underway in the requested Member State, unless the assistance would impede that analysis, inquiry, investigation or proceeding;

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 3 – point d: (d) the nature or status of the requesting counterpart competent authority, supervisor or non-AML/CFT authority is different from that of requested competent authority, supervisor or non-AML/CFT authority.

Removed:Article 45 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Member States shall ensure that their supervisors have prompt access to any information required to fulfil their tasks. Supervisors and competent authorities, including FIUs, shall have a duty to cooperate with each other

Removed:Article 46 – title: Communication of the list of competent authorities and registers

Removed:Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) the contact details of the entity in charge of the central registers referred to in Article 10;

Removed:Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new): (bb) the contact details necessary to obtain information on real estate data, certain goods and bank accounts;

Removed:Article 47 – paragraph 1: FIUs, supervisory authorities, competent authorities and non-AML/CFT authorities shall cooperate with AMLA and shall provide it with all the information necessary to allow it to carry out its duties under this Directive, under Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] and under Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for establishment of an Anti-Money Laundering Authority - COM/2021/421 final].

Removed:Article 48 – title: Cooperation in relation to credit or financial institutions

Removed:Article 48 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that financial supervisors, non-AML/CFT authorities, FIUs and authorities competent for the supervision of credit or financial institutions under other legal acts cooperate closely with each other within their respective competences and provide each other with information relevant for the performance of their respective tasks. Such cooperation and information exchange shall not impinge on an ongoing inquiry, investigation or proceedings in accordance with the criminal or administrative law of the Member State where supervisors, non-AML/CFT authorities, FIUs or authority entrusted with competences for the supervision of credit or financial institutions under other legal acts is located and shall not affect obligations of professional secrecy as provided in Article 50(1).

Removed:Article 48 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Member States shall ensure that, where financial supervisors, non-AML/CFT authorities or FIUs identify weaknesses in the AML/CFT internal control system and application of the requirements of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] of a credit or financial institution which materially increase the risks to which the institution is or might be exposed, the financial supervisor, non-AML/CFT authority or FIU immediately notifies the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the authority or body that supervises the credit institution affected in accordance with applicable Union law, including the ECB acting in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 1024/201350.

Removed:Article 48 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: In the event of potential increased risk, the respective supervisors shall cooperate and share information with the authorities supervising the institution in accordance with applicable Union law and draw up a common assessment to be notified to EBA by the supervisor who first sent the notification. AMLA shall be kept informed of any such notifications.

Removed:Article 48 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall ensure that, where financial supervisors find that a credit institution has refused to enter into or continue in a business relationship but the documented customer due diligence pursuant to Article 17(2) does not justify such refusal, they shall inform the authority responsible for ensuring compliance by that institution with Directive (EU) 2014/92 or Directive (EU) 2015/2366.

Removed:Article 48 – paragraph 6: 6. By [2 years after the date of transposition of this Directive], AMLA shall, in consultation with EBA and supervisors, issue guidelines on cooperation between financial supervisors and the authorities referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, including on the level of involvement of FIUs in such cooperation.

Removed:Article 49 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States may prohibit the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 from cooperating when such cooperation, including the exchange of information, would impinge on an ongoing inquiry, analysis, investigation or proceedings or would prejudice the prohibition of disclosure under article 54 of Regulation ... [please insert reference to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation -2021/0239 (COD)] in accordance with the criminal or administrative law of the Member State where the authorities are located.

Removed:Article 50 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall require that all persons working for or who have worked for financial supervisors, FIUs and auditors or experts acting on behalf of financial supervisors or FIUs be bound by the obligation of professional secrecy.

Removed:Article 50 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) financial supervisors, competent authorities and FIUs;

Removed:Article 50 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) financial supervisors and authorities in charge of supervising credit and financial institutions in accordance with other legislative acts relating to the supervision of credit and financial institutions, including the ECB acting in accordance with Regulation (EU) 1024/2013, whether within a Member State or in different Member States.

Removed:Article 50 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new): (ca) financial supervisors, the national central banks that are members of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), and the ECB.

Removed:Article 50 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1: For the purposes of the this paragraph, the exchange of information shall be subject to the professional secrecy requirements provided for in paragraph 1 or equivalent requirements provided under Union law.

Removed:Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) supervisors and the authorities responsible by law for the supervision of financial markets or credit or financial institutions in the discharge of their respective supervisory functions;

Removed:Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new): (ca) supervisors and, where relevant, the EPPO with regard to any criminal conduct in respect of which EPPO could exercise its competence in accordance with Article 22 or Article 25(2) or (3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/19391a

Removed:Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point c b (new): (cb) supervisors and, where relevant, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) with regard to possible cases of fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EU, Euratorm) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a; / 1a Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).

Removed:Article 51 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Member States may authorise the disclosure of certain information relating to the supervision of obliged entities for compliance with the requirements of Regulation [please insert reference – proposal for Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - COM/2021/420 final] to parliamentary inquiry committees, including those set up by the European Parliament, courts of auditors and other entities in charge of enquiries in their Member State, under the following conditions:

Removed:Article 52 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new): (aa) the cooperation between the Union bodies referred to in this Article;

Removed:Article 53 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. To the extent that it is strictly necessary for the purposes of this Directive, competent authorities may process special categories of personal data referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10 of that Regulation subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the data subject, in addition to the following safeguards:

Removed:Article 53 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) staff of the competent authorities shall maintain high professional standards of confidentiality and data protection, they shall be of high integrity and are appropriately skilled, including in detecting biases in, and in the ethical use of, big data sets;

Removed:Article 53 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) technical and organisational measures shall be in place to ensure the security of the data to high technological standards and to ensure that the processing of the data does not lead to biased and discriminatory outcomes;

Removed:Article 53 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new): (ca) any automated decision-making shall include human review and the possibility for human intervention

Removed:Article 55 a (new): Article 55a / Continuity of application of adopted instruments / 1. All guidelines, opinions and recommendations issued by the European Supervisory Authorities in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 and Regulations (EU) No1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 shall continue to apply until amended or repealed by AMLA. / 2. All regulatory technical standards adopted by the Commission in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 and Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 shall continue to apply until amended or repealed by the Commission through delegated acts.

Removed:Article 56 a (new): Article 56a / Review relating to availability and access to beneficial ownership information / By ... [three years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall, in close collaboration with AMLA, conduct an assessment of the following: / (a) the functioning of the beneficial owners registers established in the Member States as well as the interconnected system for searches through the European Central Platform; / (b) the feasibility of establishing a centralised European beneficial ownership register; / (c) the feasibility of the establishment of a European Know-Your-Customer (KYC)/Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Register, taking into account the potential risks for the de-risking of natural and legal persons, and the mitigation of administrative burdens on both the competent authorities of the Member States and the obliged entities, the added-value in terms of data quality and mitigating measures to limit shortcomings. / By... [three years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall provide a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the results of the assessment. That report may include recommendations for improving the central registers established at national level. The Commission may submit, if appropriate, a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of a centralised European Beneficial ownership register or a European KYC/CDD Register

Removed:Article 56 b (new): Article 56b / Review relating to registration obligations of high-value assets or goods / By ... [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall, in close collaboration with AMLA, conduct an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the registration obligations for other high-value goods or assets outside of free zones, potentially putting the registration burden on obliged entities. The assessment shall evaluate the proportionality of establishment of such register and shall include a cost-benefit analysis. It shall take into account the potential risks of evasion of registration of high-value goods or assets by moving those goods and assets outside of the Union internal market or by other means and compare the costs incurred, as well as proportionality. / By... [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall provide a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the results of the assessment. That report may include recommendations for expanding the registration obligations. The Commission may submit, if appropriate, a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and the Council on new registration obligations.

Removed:Article 56 c (new): Article 56c / Review relating to functioning of of high-value assets or goods registers and systems / By ... five years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall, in close collaboration with AMLA, conduct an assessment of the following: / (a) the functioning of the register and data retrieval systems for motor vehicles, aircrafts and watercrafts as referred to in Article 16b; / (b) the feasibility of expanding the registration obligations for other high-value goods or assets outside of free zones, potentially putting the registration burden on obliged entities, the assessment to include an evaluation of the proportionality of establishing such register and a cost to benefits assessment that shall play a significant role; / (c) the functioning of the free zone asset registers as referred to in Article 16c; / (d) the feasibility of broader registration obligations for high-value goods and assets in free zones. / The assessment shall take into account the potential risks of evasion of registration of high-value goods or assets by moving those goods and assets outside of the Union internal market or by other means and compare them to the costs incurred, as well as proportionality. / By... [five years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall provide a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the results of such assessment. That report may include recommendations for improving the registers, data retri…

Removed:Article 58 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [please insert date - two years after the date of entry into force]. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

Removed:General reflections

Removed:It has become clear for some time that the current framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CTF) in the EU is ineffective. While the EU legislation lays down some of the most advanced standards in the world, it has not been timely transposed by Member States or enforced properly at national level. The divergences in the implementation of past AML Directives have also seriously undermined the effectiveness of the framework. Therefore, the co-rapporteurs welcome the AML Package proposed by the Commission, which consists of different legislative instruments, including the 6th AML Directive (AMLD). The co-rapporteurs also welcome the proposal to establish an Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).

Removed:It should be understood that the framework to combat ML/TF is only as effective as its weakest spot (be it a country, an institution, an economic sector). This is all the more relevant in the EU single market, which combines common rules and freedoms. Aiming just for average improvements is far from enough.

Removed:The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the outcome of the sanctions that followed the war has proved to us that the rules and procedures currently in place do not give rise to desired outcomes. Even as sanctions are directed only to a small number of high-profile cases, the identification of owners of high value goods and assets, such as mansions, private planes and mega-yachts was, in the current circumstances, too challenging a task for the competent authorities to undertake. This shows weaknesses of the current ML/TF frameworks, as there are reasonable suspicions that some of money used by persons under sanction regime do not have a clear origin. The experience from this episode should be reflected in the new legislation.

Removed:From the discussions with different stakeholders, it has become clear that both the absence of detailed rules and the divergences of practices in national implementation of the AML Directives have affected the ability of competent authorities to identify suspicious transactions and truly disrupt criminal activity, especially where it crosses borders. We need to close all the remaining gaps, while making the most of the existing system as the foundation upon which improvement can be made. In addition, we must have in mind that impact linked to ML/TF requirements on honest persons, entrepreneurs and firms should be limited and proportionate.

Removed:Topical reflections:

Removed:It is important to safeguard that persons who take positions in the management of certain obliged entities, or who are beneficial owners of those obliged entities, fulfil certain requirements relating notably to honesty and integrity and good repute. Co-rapporteurs propose to strengthen these requirements and further specify supervisory powers necessary to enforce them.

Removed:AML Directives in force already require Member States to prevent the misuse of legal persons for ML/TF and to ensure that there is adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons and arrangements through public registers. The Commission proposal in AMLD6 is a good basis for discussions on the requirements that EU law lays down for the establishment of beneficial ownership registers by Member States. Still, based on international best practices and to further enhance the accuracy of the data provided in the registers, the Co-Rapporteurs propose stronger requirements, notably on the verification of the data and use of technology for this purpose, and on the abilities of entities in charge of the registers to sanction inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Furthermore, the co-rapporteurs believe that some public access to beneficial ownership information on trusts and similar legal arrangements should no longer be restricted.

Removed:It is also very important to set out clear rules for access and search of the beneficial ownership registers by competent authorities, supervisors and obliged entities. Therefore, the Co-Rapporteurs propose a specific provision laying down the criteria for searches in the beneficial ownership registers through the European Central Platform, which we hope will be operational by the time the Directive will come into effect.

Removed:Real estate continues to represent an attractive commodity for criminals to launder the proceeds of their illicit activities, as it sometime unfortunately in practice allows obscuring the true source of the funds and the identity of the beneficial owner. Co-Rapporteurs wish, therefore, to ensure timely access to beneficial ownership data of real estate owners, including through registers or electronic data retrieval systems. Member States should be required to provide access to this information to the competent authorities via a single access point, and include information not only on the economic value but also on the means of payment. Registers or electronic data retrieval systems shall be interconnected by Real Estate Data (RED) single access point, which shall be operated by the Commission, allowing Member States discretion to determine which system they will use to fulfil this requirement.

Removed:It has also become clear that while information on high value goods, such as yachts and planes is collected, it is rarely useful for the purpose of detecting ML/TF. Therefore, the Co-Rapporteurs introduce an obligation for Member States to provide access to competent authorities to beneficial ownership information on the owners of certain goods whose value is estimated above a certain threshold, as well as, the access to information of means of payment of some of these assets.

Removed:Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) are part of and play a central role in a jurisdiction's AML/CTF operational network, and provide crucial support to the work of other competent authorities. Co-Rapporteurs introduced changes in the chapter governing the functioning of FIUs, aiming to foster access to information by FIUs and exchange of information between them, making the most of technological advancements, while safeguarding fundamental rights. The movement of illicit money increasingly crosses borders and may affect different Member States, which is why it is essential that the information flows without unnecessary hurdles and delays, while opportunities for data matching between Member States should be further improved.

Removed:The ability of FIUs to suspend transactions remains crucial to disrupt ML/TF, which is why the Co-Rapporteurs chose to detail such a procedure further in the draft report.

Removed:Proper supervision of both credit and financial institutions and other obliged entities in the non-financial sector sits at the heart of an effective AML/CFT framework. In the past decade, several high-profile money laundering cases revealed significant shortcomings with respect to certain banks’ risk management and their surveillance by both AML/CFT and prudential supervisors. Recent scandals also brought to light flawed supervision of non-financial entities. Co-rapporteurs welcome the Commission's proposals to further detail supervisory action and coordination. Co-rapporteurs have further detailed he role of AMLA, where there are disagreements between supervisors and where joint analysis teams are required. AMLA is also given a role in assessing the conditions for cooperation with third country financial supervisors on a case-by-case basis.

Removed:The co-rapporteurs fully support the Commission’s proposal for public oversight of self-regulatory bodies, who are in charge of supervision of specific obliged entities in the non-financial sector, and further detail requirements in the relevant provisions. Co-rapporteurs believe, however, a public authority, not a self-regulatory body, should supervise the real estate sector.

Removed:Further to the mentions already made, co-rapporteurs wish to increase the role of AMLA in the context of the rules and procedures laid down in this Directive. Co-rapporteurs propose, in particular, that AMLA should

Removed:-draft and publish guidelines on the elements to be taken into account by supervisors when assessing suitability of the management and beneficial ownership of certain obliged entities, as well as on the circumstances where conflicts of interest may arise amongst FIU staff members.

Removed:-keep a repository of the national authorities responsible or mechanisms established to coordinate the national response to risks, identified on a national basis;

Removed:-conduct peer reviews regarding the functioning of national entities in charge of beneficial ownership registers, and on the fulfilment, by FIUs, of specific requirements laid down in this Directive.

Removed:-be given the power to suspend access to the FIU.net, should the peer review of a specific FIU raise serious concerns;

Removed:- include in the technical standards that AMLA should prepare the ranges of pecuniary sanctions relative to the turnover of the entity that shall be applied in breaches of AML obligations .