Art. 54 Guidelines and recommendations | Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR) | AML

This article establishes the Authority's power to issue guidelines and recommendations aimed at promoting consistent and uniform application of Union law across AML/CFT supervisory and FIU-related practices.

It sets out a "comply or explain" mechanism: supervisory authorities, supervisors, and FIUs must confirm within two months whether they intend to comply, and if not, the Authority will publicly disclose that fact.

The article also addresses the relationship with pre-existing guidance, confirming that the Authority's new guidelines and recommendations will ultimately supersede those previously issued by the EBA, supervisors, and FIUs on the same subject, with a transition period provided.

Important points:

Supervisory authorities, supervisors, and FIUs are required to confirm compliance or non-compliance with any issued guideline or recommendation within two months, stating reasons if they do not intend to comply.
The Authority will publish the names of supervisory authorities, supervisors, or FIUs that do not comply or do not intend to comply with a guideline or recommendation.
Make every effort to comply with guidelines and recommendations issued by the Authority, which replace any prior EBA, supervisor, or FIU guidance on the same subject.

1. The Authority shall, with a view to establishing consistent, efficient and effective supervisory and FIU-related practices, and to ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law, issue guidelines and recommendations addressed to supervisory authorities, supervisors, FIUs, or obliged entities.
1. The Authority shall, where appropriate, conduct open public consultations regarding those guidelines and recommendations and analyse the related potential costs and benefits. Those consultations and analyses shall be proportionate to the scope, nature and impact of the guidelines or recommendations. Where the Authority does not conduct open public consultations, the Authority shall provide its reasons and make them public.
1. Supervisory authorities, supervisors, FIUs and obliged entities shall make every effort to comply with those guidelines and recommendations.
2. Within two months of the issuance of a guideline or recommendation, each supervisory authority, supervisor or FIU shall confirm whether it complies or intends to comply with that guideline or recommendation. In the event that a supervisory authority, supervisor or FIU does not comply or does not intend to comply, it shall inform the Authority, stating its reasons.
3. The Authority shall publish the fact that a supervisory authority, supervisor or FIU does not comply or does not intend to comply with that guideline or recommendation. The Authority may also decide, on a case-by-case basis, to publish the reasons provided by the supervisory authority, supervisor or FIU for not complying with that guideline or recommendation. The supervisory authority, supervisor or FIU shall receive advance notice of such publication.
4. If required by that guideline or recommendation, obliged entities shall report, in a clear and detailed way, whether they comply with that guideline or recommendation.
1. In the report referred to in Article 64(4), point (c), the Authority shall list the guidelines and recommendations that it has issued.
1. The guidelines and recommendations issued by the Authority shall replace the guidelines and recommendations previously issued by the EBA or by supervisors and FIUs on the same subject. Provided that they are still relevant, the guidelines and recommendations issued by the EBA, or by supervisors and FIUs pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁴⁰) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 shall remain applicable until such time as the new guidelines and recommendations issued by the Authority on the same subject start to apply. The Authority shall provide for a suitable transition period for the application of the new guidelines and recommendations.