Source: OJ L, 2024/1620, 19.6.2024Current language: EN
- Anti-money laundering
Basic legislative acts
- Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR)
Article 9 Thematic reviews
Summary What does Article 9 of the Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR) say?
This article establishes the framework for planning, coordinating, and sharing the outcomes of thematic supervisory reviews across the Union.
It creates an annual cycle in which national supervisory authorities feed their planned thematic review programmes up to AMLA, which then consolidates that information and, where Union-wide relevance justifies it, steps in to coordinate joint reviews.
The article draws a clear line between AMLA's coordinating role and the retained supervisory responsibility of national authorities, particularly when it comes to direct interaction with non-selected obliged entities.
This article connects closely to the broader supervisory convergence objective running through the regulation, complementing AMLA's role under Article 8 in developing a harmonised supervisory methodology.
Important points:
- Supervisory authorities are required to submit their planned thematic review programmes to AMLA by 1 December each year, covering scope, timeframe, and the nature of planned supervisory activities.
- Where thematic reviews have Union-wide relevance, AMLA coordinates joint reviews, with the General Board in supervisory composition drawing up the list and a published report for each joint review.
- Direct interaction with non-selected obliged entities in the context of any thematic review remains the exclusive responsibility of the relevant national supervisory authority and does not constitute a transfer of tasks or powers to AMLA.
Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
No later than 1 December each year, supervisory authorities shall provide information to the Authority on supervisory reviews which they intend to carry out, on a thematic basis, during the following year or supervisory term and which aim to assess ML/TF risks or a specific aspect of such risks to which multiple obliged entities are exposed at the same time. The following information shall be provided:
the scope of each planned thematic review in terms of category and number of obliged entities included and the subject matter of the review;
the timeframe of each planned thematic review;
the planned types, nature and frequency of supervisory activities to be performed in relation to each thematic review, including any on-site inspections or other types of direct interaction with obliged entities, where applicable.
By the end of each year, the Chair of the Authority shall present to the General Board in supervisory composition as referred to in Article 57(2) a consolidated planning of the thematic reviews that supervisory authorities intend to carry out during the following year.
Where the scope and Union-wide relevance of thematic reviews justify coordination at Union level, they shall be carried out jointly by the relevant supervisory authorities and shall be coordinated by the Authority. The Executive Board may propose joint thematic reviews based on the available analyses of threats, vulnerabilities and risks in the internal market. The General Board in supervisory composition shall draw up a list of joint thematic reviews. The General Board in supervisory composition shall draw up a report relating to the conduct, subject matter and outcome of each joint thematic review. The Authority shall publish that report on its website.
The Authority shall coordinate the activities of the supervisory authorities and facilitate the planning and execution of the joint thematic reviews referred to in paragraph 3. Any direct interaction with obliged entities other than the selected obliged entities in the context of any thematic review shall remain under the exclusive responsibility of the supervisory authority responsible for supervision of those obliged entities and shall not be construed as a transfer of tasks and powers related to those entities within the AML/CFT supervisory system.
Where planned thematic reviews at national level are not subject to a coordinated approach at the level of the Union, the Authority shall, jointly with the supervisory authorities, explore the need for and the possibility of aligning or synchronising the timeframe of those thematic reviews, and shall facilitate information exchange and mutual assistance between supervisory authorities carrying out those thematic reviews. The Authority shall also facilitate any activities that the relevant supervisory authorities may wish to carry out jointly or in a similar manner in the context of their respective thematic reviews.
The Authority shall ensure that the outcomes and conclusions of the thematic reviews conducted at national level by several supervisory authorities are shared with all supervisory authorities, with the exception of confidential information pertaining to individual obliged entities. Such sharing of information shall include any common conclusions resulting from exchanges of information or from joint or coordinated activities involving several supervisory authorities.
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
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
AML/CFT supervisory system
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
self-regulatory body
Definition
third country
Definition
funds
Definition
supervisory authority