Source: OJ L, 2024/1640, 19.6.2024

Current language: EN

Article 24 Suspension or withholding of consent

Summary What does Article 24 of the Sixth anti-money laundering (AML 6) directive say?

This article grants Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) two distinct but related intervention powers when money laundering or terrorist financing is suspected: the ability to suspend or withhold consent to a specific transaction, and the ability to suspend access to an account or an entire business relationship.

The purpose of these powers is to preserve funds while the FIU conducts its analysis and, where suspicion is confirmed, passes findings to relevant competent authorities.

Importantly, the article also provides FIUs with a liability shield, ensuring that neither the FIU nor its staff face any legal liability for exercising these suspension powers.

Important points:

  • FIUs are required to be empowered by Member States to suspend transactions and freeze access to accounts or business relationships upon suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing, with time limits of 10 working days for transactions and 5 working days for accounts and business relationships, though longer periods are permitted under national law where appropriate safeguards exist.
  • These suspension powers extend cross-border, meaning an FIU must also be empowered to act at the request of an FIU from another Member State.
  • The FIU, its directors, and employees incur no liability of any kind for imposing a suspension or withholding consent under this article.

Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.

    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 laundering or terrorist financing, 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 entity 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 entity, 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 funds, 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 authorities 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 account or a business relationship is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, 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 relationship in order to preserve the funds, 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 authorities 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 account or business relationship 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 relationship 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.

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