Source: OJ L, 2024/1620, 19.6.2024Current language: EN
- Anti-money laundering
Basic legislative acts
- Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR)
Article 33 Settlement of disagreements between financial supervisors in cross-border situations
Summary What does Article 33 of the Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR) say?
This article establishes the Authority's role as mediator and binding decision-maker when disagreements arise between financial supervisors over the supervision of non-selected obliged entities.
It sets out a structured escalation process: starting with a request for assistance, moving through a conciliation phase where the Authority acts as mediator, and culminating in the Authority's power to issue binding decisions if supervisors fail to reach agreement or comply with its opinion.
This article complements the Authority's broader supervisory coordination role, and sits alongside Article 38 which mirrors the same dispute resolution mechanism for non-financial supervisors.
Important points:
- Financial supervisors are required to request the Authority's assistance without undue delay where a required cooperation agreement has broken down, a disagreement exists on objective grounds, or two months have passed without a satisfactory response to a request for action.
- If conciliation fails, the Authority may issue a binding decision requiring financial supervisors to take specific action, refrain from action, or even revoke or amend a decision they have already adopted.
- The Chair of the Authority must report on the nature and type of disagreements between financial supervisors, agreements reached, and decisions taken, in the annual report referred to in Article 84.
Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
The Authority may assist financial supervisors in reaching an agreement in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article at the request of one or more financial supervisors pursuant to Article 46, 47, 49 or 54 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 or in other instances where a financial supervisor disagrees with the procedure or content of an action, proposed action, or inactivity of another financial supervisor insofar as it affects its own supervisory tasks and responsibilities in relation to a specific non-selected obliged entity or multiple non-selected obliged entities.
In cases other than those covered by Articles 46, 47, 49 and 54 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, a financial supervisor shall request the assistance of the Authority without undue delay where a provision of Union law requires that financial supervisor to reach, with another financial supervisor, an agreement, arrangement or other form of established or formalised cooperation relating to the supervision of specific non-selected obliged entities, and any of the following occurs:
the agreement has been reached but has not been effectively applied or adhered to by one of the parties;
a financial supervisor concludes, on the basis of objective reasons, that a disagreement exists;
two months have elapsed from the date of receipt by a financial supervisor of a request from another financial supervisor to take certain action in order to comply with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation and the requested supervisor has not adopted a decision that satisfies the request.
The Executive Board shall assess any request referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and notify the relevant parties whether it considers the request justified and intends to act upon it in accordance with this Article.
The Authority shall set a time limit for conciliation between the financial supervisors, taking into account any relevant time periods specified in Union law and the complexity and urgency of the matter. For the purposes of the conciliation phase, the Authority shall act as a mediator. Where necessary or provided for in Union law, it shall issue an opinion on how to settle the disagreement.
Where the financial supervisors fail to reach an agreement during the conciliation phase referred to in paragraph 4, or where they fail to follow the opinion issued by Authority, the Authority may require those supervisors to take specific action or refrain from certain action, in order to settle the matter, and to ensure compliance with Union law. The decision of the Authority shall be binding on the financial supervisors. The Authority’s decision may require financial supervisors to revoke or amend a decision that they have adopted or to make use of their powers under applicable Union law.
The Authority shall notify the financial supervisors of the conclusion of the procedures under paragraphs 4 and 5 together with, where applicable, its decision taken under paragraph 5.
Any action by the financial supervisors in relation to facts which are subject to a decision pursuant to paragraph 5 shall be compatible with such a decision.
In the report referred to in Article 84, the Chair of the Authority shall set out the nature and type of disagreements between financial supervisors, the agreements reached and the decisions taken to settle such disagreements.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Definition
crypto-asset services
Definition
supervisor
Definition
financial mixed activity holding company
Definition
non-selected obliged entity
Definition
crypto-asset service provider
Definition
credit institution
- a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;
- a branch of a credit institution, as defined in Article 4(1), point (17), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, when located in the Union, whether its head office is located in a Member State or in a third country;
Definition
parent undertaking
- for groups whose head office is located in the Union, an obliged entity that is a parent undertaking as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive 2013/34/EU that is not itself a subsidiary of another undertaking in the Union, provided that at least one subsidiary undertaking is an obliged entity;
- for groups whose head office is located outside of the Union, where at least two subsidiary undertakings are obliged entities established in the Union, an undertaking within that group established in the Union that:
- is an obliged entity;
- is an undertaking that is not a subsidiary of another undertaking that is an obliged entity established in the Union;
- has a sufficient prominence within the group and a sufficient understanding of the operations of the group that are subject to the requirements of this Regulation; and
- is given the responsibility of implementing group-wide requirements under Chapter II, Section 2 of this Regulation;
Definition
selected obliged entity
Definition
crypto-asset
Definition
property
Definition
group
Definition
financial institution
- an undertaking other than a credit institution or an investment firm, which carries out one or more of the activities listed in points (2) to (12), (14) and (15) of Annex I to Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(32), including the activities of currency exchange offices (bureaux de change), but excluding the activities referred to in point (8) of Annex I to Directive (EU) 2015/2366, or an undertaking the principal activity of which is to acquire holdings, including a financial holding company, a mixed financial holding company and a financial mixed activity holding company;
- an insurance undertaking as defined in Article 13, point (1), of Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(33), insofar as it carries out life or other investment-related assurance activities covered by that Directive, including insurance holding companies and mixed-activity insurance holding companies as defined, respectively, in Article 212(1), points (f) and (g), of Directive 2009/138/EC;
- an insurance intermediary as defined in Article 2(1), point (3), of Directive (EU) 2016/97 where it acts with respect to life insurance and other investment-related insurance services, with the exception of an insurance intermediary that does not collect premiums or amounts intended for the customer and which acts under the responsibility of one or more insurance undertakings or intermediaries for the products which concern them respectively;
- an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(34);
- a collective investment undertaking, in particular:
- an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) as defined in Article 1(2) of Directive 2009/65/EC and its management company as defined in Article 2(1), point (b), of that Directive or an investment company authorised in accordance with that Directive and which has not designated a management company, that makes available for purchase units of UCITS in the Union;
- an alternative investment fund as defined in Article 4(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/61/EU and its alternative investment fund manager as defined in Article 4(1), point (b), of that Directive that fall within the scope set out in Article 2 of that Directive;
- a central securities depository as defined in Article 2(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(35);
- a creditor as defined in Article 4, point (2), of Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(36) and in Article 3, point (b), of Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(37);
- a credit intermediary as defined in Article 4, point (5), of Directive 2014/17/EU and in Article 3, point (f), of Directive 2008/48/EC, when holding the funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 in connection with the credit agreement, with the exception of the credit intermediary carrying out activities under the responsibility of one or more creditors or credit intermediaries;
- a crypto-asset service provider;
- a branch of a financial institution referred to in points (a) to (i), when located in the Union, whether its head office is located in a Member State or in a third country;
Definition
third country
Definition
funds