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Claude Bocqueraz <\/p>\n
Deputy Head of the Financial Crime Unit at the European Commission\u2019s DG-FISMA<\/strong><\/p>\n AT first sight, simplifying the rules to combat financial crime seems counterintuitive.<\/strong><\/p>\n Financial crime is becoming increasingly complex, fast-moving, and global\u2014consider the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies\u2019 use, for example.\u00a0<\/p>\n So how can simplification reinforce our fight against financial crime? In fact, simplification is essential to enhancing both the efficiency and the overall effectiveness of our regulatory framework for AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and CTF (Countering the Financing of Terrorism).\u00a0<\/p>\n But, importantly, simplification does not mean reducing vigilance; rather, it is about improving it\u2014streamlining processes so that regulatory efforts are sharper, more focused, and more impactful.<\/p>\n When we discuss simplification in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, we must be clear about what we mean.<\/p>\n Simplification is not about relaxing standards or reducing scrutiny \u2014 it is about making rules clearer, supervision more consistent, and compliance more efficient and more effective. In other words, simplification means building a system that is both\u00a0easier to understand\u00a0and\u00a0stronger in practice.<\/p>\n Harmonization<\/p>\n Today, one of the main strengths of the new European AML\/CFT framework is precisely this ambition: to simplify through\u00a0harmonisation and integration. And I would like to highlight five points related to this.\u00a0<\/p>\n First, the introduction of a\u00a0single rulebook\u00a0(with the AMLD 6 and the AML R replacing the current directive) is a historic step forward. Until now, obliged entities across the EU had to navigate 27 different transpositions of the AML directives, each with its own national specificities and interpretations. The new framework replaces this patchwork with\u00a0one coherent set of directly applicable rules.<\/p>\n For financial institutions and professionals operating across borders, this will bring\u00a0greater legal certainty,\u00a0fewer inconsistencies, and\u00a0a reduction in duplicative processes. Compliance teams will spend less time interpreting differences and more time managing actual risks.<\/p>\n Second, the establishment of an\u00a0integrated supervisory system, with the\u00a0Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) at its centre, represents a significant simplification of how the supervisory system will function.<\/p>\n AMLA will connect national supervisors and EU bodies into a single coordinated structure based on\u00a0mutual trust, cooperation, and information sharing. It will develop common technical standards, define supervisory methodologies, and ensure that expectations are aligned across Member States. For the private sector, this means clearer guidance and more predictability in how supervision is carried out.<\/p>\n Capacity<\/p>\n Third, simplification also requires\u00a0building supervisory capacity, especially in the non-financial sectors where practices and resources still vary widely. AMLA\u2019s future work \u2014 mapping supervisory practices and resources, conducting peer reviews, and delivering targeted training \u2014 will help ensure that all supervisors, large and small, apply the same principles to the same standard. <\/p>\n This investment in capacity will reduce fragmentation, close compliance gaps (non financial sector), and make it easier for both supervisors and obliged entities to understand what is expected from them.<\/p>\n Fourth, another key element of simplification lies in\u00a0information sharing. For years, one of the biggest bottlenecks in the AML\/CFT system has been the difficulty of exchanging data or information \u2014 not just between the public and private sectors, but also across borders and institutions.<\/p>\n With the new AML package, the European Union has taken significant steps to enhance cooperation and information sharing at all levels: among FIUs (including those outside the Union), among supervisors (also including those from outside the Union), between various authorities at national and EU levels, and between the private sector and public authorities. <\/p>\n The AML Regulation now introduces, for the first time, a\u00a0legal basis for public private information-sharing partnerships. These partnerships will enable structured and secure exchanges between financial institutions, supervisors, FIUs and law enforcement authorities. AMLA\u2019s coordinating role here will be critical. By setting common safeguards (ensuring data protection) and facilitating collaboration, AMLA will help foster a more intelligent use of information.\u00a0<\/p>\n If data protection, fundamental rights and national law criminal requirements are met, then the judicial system will be able to use the information and gathered intelligence, for prosecution. This is simplification through smarter cooperation.<\/p>\n Trust<\/p>\n Fifth and finally, simplification is also about\u00a0trust. The European Commission has been clear that AMLA\u2019s mission is to\u00a0harmonise supervision, ensure coordination, and build and maintain trust. Trust among authorities, trust between supervisors and the private sector, and ultimately trust from citizens that the system works. So, when we talk about simplification of AML requirements, we are really talking about creating\u00a0clarity, coherence, and consistency\u00a0across Europe. We are moving from a fragmented landscape of national rules to a\u00a0unified European framework\u00a0that is easier to apply, easier to supervise, and ultimately more effective in protecting the integrity of our financial system.<\/p>\n And in that journey, AMLA will be the key actor \u2014 hopefully turning complexity into clarity, fragmentation into unity, and compliance into a shared European effort through smarter cooperation.<\/p>\n
A system that is consistent, transparent, and predictable is one that institutions, public and private, can follow with confidence \u2014 and one that criminals will find much harder to exploit.<\/p>\n![\"AML](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/phone-tablet-desktop.png\")
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