Art. 70 Specific provisions for reporting of suspicions by certain categories of obliged entities | Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) | AML

This article operates as a carve-out from Article 69, which sets the general suspicious transaction reporting obligation.

It deals specifically with legal professionals and similar obliged entities — notaries, lawyers, auditors, accountants, and tax advisors — and creates two distinct accommodations for them.

First, Member States may allow these professionals to route their reports through a designated self-regulatory body rather than directly to the FIU, provided that body forwards the information promptly and unfiltered.

Second, and more significantly, these same professionals are granted an exemption from reporting altogether when the information in question was obtained in the course of providing legal advice or representing a client in judicial proceedings.

This exemption, however, falls away if the professional is themselves involved in money laundering or terrorist financing, or knows the client is seeking their services for those purposes.

Member States also retain the ability to disapply the exemption for specific transaction types that carry higher risks, with a notification requirement to the Commission.

Important points:

Notaries, lawyers, auditors, external accountants, and tax advisors are exempt from the Article 69 reporting obligation when the information relates to ascertaining a client's legal position or defending them in judicial proceedings.
The exemption does not apply where the professional participates in, facilitates, or knowingly assists money laundering or terrorist financing.
Member States may designate a self-regulatory body to receive reports from these professionals in place of the FIU, but that body must forward the information to the FIU promptly and unfiltered.

1. By way of derogation from Article 69(1), Member States may allow obliged entities referred to in Article 3, point (3)(a) and (b), to transmit the information referred to in Article 69(1) to a self-regulatory body designated by the Member State.
2. The designated self-regulatory body shall forward the information referred to in the first subparagraph to the FIU promptly and unfiltered.
1. Notaries, lawyers, other independent legal professionals, auditors, external accountants and tax advisors shall be exempted from the requirements laid down in Article 69(1) to the extent that such exemption relates to information that they receive from, or obtain on a client, in the course of ascertaining the legal position of that client, or performing their task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings, regardless of whether such information is received or obtained before, during or after such proceedings.
2. The exemption set out in the first subparagraph shall not apply when the obliged entities referred to therein:
  1. take part in money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing;
  2. provide legal advice for the purposes of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; or
  3. know that the client is seeking legal advice for the purposes of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; knowledge or purpose may be inferred from objective factual circumstances.
1. In addition to the situations referred to in paragraph 2, second subparagraph, where justified on the basis of the higher risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing associated with certain types of transactions, Member States may decide that the exemption referred to in paragraph 2, first subparagraph, does not apply to those types of transactions and, as appropriate, impose additional reporting obligations on the obliged entities referred to in that paragraph. Member States shall notify the Commission of any decision taken pursuant to this paragraph. The Commission shall communicate such decisions to the other Member States.