Summary: Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (AMLR)
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?
Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 aims to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing by laying down rules on:
- measures financial institutions and certain non-financial businesses and individuals (obliged entities) must take to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing;
- beneficial ownership [1] transparency requirements for legal entities, express trusts and similar legal arrangements; and
- measures to limit misuse of anonymous instruments.
KEY POINTS
The following are among the businesses and activities considered obliged entities:
- credit and financial institutions;
- auditors, external accountants, tax advisors and lawyers whose main profession is providing tax advice;
- notaries, lawyers and legal professionals involved in financial or real estate transactions or in the planning of certain transactions for their clients;
- other entities including professional football clubs and football agents and traders in certain high-value goods.
The regulation contains the possibility of full or partial exemptions if national assessments consider the following to be low risk:
- certain gambling activities;
- professional football clubs participating in the highest division with an annual turnover of less than €5 million for the previous two calendar years and those taking part in the lower divisions on the basis of proven low risk; and
- various small-scale financial activities, provided strict turnover and threshold ceilings are respected.
