Art. 24 Suspension or withholding of consent | Sixth anti-money laundering (AML 6) directive | AML

1. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money launderingmeans the conduct set out in Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 5, of Directive (EU) 2018/1673 including aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting to commit that conduct, whether the activities which generated the property to be laundered were carried out on the territory of a Member State or on that of a third country; knowledge, intent or purpose required as an element of that conduct may be inferred from objective factual circumstances; or terrorist financingmeans the conduct set out in Article 11 of Directive (EU) 2017/541 including aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting to commit that conduct, whether carried out on the territory of a Member State or on that of a third country; knowledge, intent or purpose required as an element of that conduct may be inferred from objective factual circumstances;, to suspend or withhold consent to that transaction.
2. Member States shall ensure that, where the need to suspend or withhold consent to a transaction is established on the basis of a suspicion reported pursuant to Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, the suspension or withholding of consent is imposed on the obliged entitymeans a natural or legal person listed in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 that is not exempted in accordance with Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of that Regulation; within the period referred to in Article 71 of that Regulation. Where the need to suspend a transaction is based on the analytical work of the FIU, regardless of whether a prior report has been filed by the obliged entitymeans a natural or legal person listed in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 that is not exempted in accordance with Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of that Regulation;, the suspension shall be imposed as soon as possible by the FIU.
3. The suspension or withholding of consent to a transaction shall be imposed by the FIU in order to preserve the fundsor ‘property’ means property as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive (EU) 2018/1673;, to perform its analyses, including the analysis of the transaction, to assess whether the suspicion is confirmed and if so, to disseminate the results of the analyses to the relevant competent authoritiesmeans:a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU);a supervisory authority;a public authority that has the function of investigating or prosecuting money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing, or that has the function of tracing, seizing or freezing and confiscating criminal assets;a public authority with designated responsibilities for combating money laundering or terrorist financing; to allow for the adoption of appropriate measures.
4. Member States shall lay down the period of suspension or withholding of consent applicable for the FIUs analytical work which shall not exceed 10 working days. Member States may lay down a longer period where, pursuant to national law, FIUs perform the function of tracing, seizing, freezing or confiscating criminal assets. Where a longer period of suspension or withholding of consent is laid down, Member States shall ensure that FIUs exercise their function subject to appropriate national safeguards, such as the possibility for the person whose transaction has been suspended to challenge that suspension before a court.
5. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to lift the suspension or withholding of consent at any time where they conclude that the suspension or withholding of consent is no longer necessary to fulfil objectives set out in the third subparagraph.
6. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to suspend or withhold consent as referred to in this paragraph at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
1. Where there is a suspicion that a bank account or payment account, a crypto-asset accountmeans a crypto-asset account as defined in Article 3, point (19), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113; or a business relationshipmeans a business, professional or commercial relationship connected with the professional activities of an obliged entity, which is set up between an obliged entity and a customer, including in the absence of a written contract and which is expected to have, at the time when the contact is established, or which subsequently acquires, an element of repetition or duration; is related to money launderingmeans the conduct set out in Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 5, of Directive (EU) 2018/1673 including aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting to commit that conduct, whether the activities which generated the property to be laundered were carried out on the territory of a Member State or on that of a third country; knowledge, intent or purpose required as an element of that conduct may be inferred from objective factual circumstances; or terrorist financingmeans the conduct set out in Article 11 of Directive (EU) 2017/541 including aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting to commit that conduct, whether carried out on the territory of a Member State or on that of a third country; knowledge, intent or purpose required as an element of that conduct may be inferred from objective factual circumstances;, Member States shall ensure that the FIU is empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, to suspend the use of that account or to suspend the business relationshipmeans a business, professional or commercial relationship connected with the professional activities of an obliged entity, which is set up between an obliged entity and a customer, including in the absence of a written contract and which is expected to have, at the time when the contact is established, or which subsequently acquires, an element of repetition or duration; in order to preserve the fundsor ‘property’ means property as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive (EU) 2018/1673;, to perform its analyses, to assess whether the suspicion is confirmed and if so, to disseminate the results of the analyses to the relevant competent authoritiesmeans:a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU);a supervisory authority;a public authority that has the function of investigating or prosecuting money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing, or that has the function of tracing, seizing or freezing and confiscating criminal assets;a public authority with designated responsibilities for combating money laundering or terrorist financing; to allow for the adoption of appropriate measures.
2. Member States shall lay down the period of suspension applicable for the FIUs analytical work which shall not exceed 5 working days. Member States may lay down a longer period where, pursuant to national law, FIUs perform the function of tracing, seizing, freezing or confiscating criminal assets. Where a longer period of suspension is laid down, Member States shall ensure that FIUs exercise their function subject to appropriate national safeguards, such as the possibility for the person whose bank account or payment account, crypto-asset accountmeans a crypto-asset account as defined in Article 3, point (19), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113; or business relationshipmeans a business, professional or commercial relationship connected with the professional activities of an obliged entity, which is set up between an obliged entity and a customer, including in the absence of a written contract and which is expected to have, at the time when the contact is established, or which subsequently acquires, an element of repetition or duration; is suspended to challenge that suspension before a court.
3. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to lift the suspension at any time where they conclude that the suspension is no longer necessary to fulfil objectives set out in the first subparagraph.
4. Member States shall ensure that FIUs are empowered to suspend the use of an account or suspend a business relationshipmeans a business, professional or commercial relationship connected with the professional activities of an obliged entity, which is set up between an obliged entity and a customer, including in the absence of a written contract and which is expected to have, at the time when the contact is established, or which subsequently acquires, an element of repetition or duration; as referred to in this paragraph at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
1. The imposition of a suspension or the withholding of consent in accordance with this Article shall not attach liability of any kind to the FIU or its directors or employees.