Excellent choice: Frankfurt will be the seat of the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)

published on 26 February 2024

Frankfurt has been selected as the headquarters of the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). This was decided by the representatives of the 27 EU member states and the European Parliament on Thursday after several rounds of voting in Brussels. Frankfurt thus prevailed over eight competing applications, including top locations such as Paris and Dublin.

The establishment of the new authority was already finally decided by the EU in December and was justified in particular by the fact that international money laundering links had not been recognized by the national supervisory authorities in the past. However, the decision to establish the new authority is also part of a larger legislative amendment in the fight against money laundering in the EU. In future, the AMLA is to directly supervise particularly high-risk cross-border institutions in the financial sector, among others, and also receive additional supervisory powers for other institutions and in the non-financial sector. According to a press release from the Federal Ministry of Finance, it is expected to begin its work as early as 2024 and be able to fully fulfil its supervisory tasks from the beginning of 2027.

The decision to locate the AMLA in Frankfurt is an important milestone in the fight against money laundering in Germany and the EU and also sends the right signal to recognize Germany's many efforts to improve the fight against money laundering. The task now is to live up to this trust and prove that the decision in favor of Frankfurt was the right one.