Art. 73 Prohibition of disclosure | Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) | AML

This article establishes the "tipping off" prohibition, a core confidentiality obligation that directly complements the suspicious transaction reporting requirements set out in Articles 69 and 70.

The rule prevents obliged entities — and everyone acting on their behalf — from alerting customers or third parties to the fact that a report has been made, information has been transmitted, or an AML/CFT analysis is underway.

The article then carves out several permitted disclosure channels: to competent authorities and supervisory bodies, within the same group (subject to group-wide policy compliance), between professionals sharing common ownership or compliance structures, and between obliged entities involved in the same transaction, provided equivalent standards and secrecy obligations apply.

Important points:

Do not disclose to customers or third parties that a suspicious transaction assessment, report, or AML/CFT analysis is taking or has taken place.
The prohibition has defined exceptions, including disclosures to competent authorities, within the same group, and between co-involved obliged entities on the same transaction where equivalent standards apply.
Obliged entities that are legal or tax professionals attempting to dissuade a client from illegal activity are explicitly excluded from the scope of the tipping off prohibition.

1. Obliged entities and their directors, employees, or persons in comparable positions, including agents and distributors, shall not disclose to the customer concerned or to other third persons the fact that transactions or activities are being or have been assessed in accordance with Article 69, that information is being, will be or has been transmitted in accordance with Article 69 or 70 or that a money laundering or terrorist financing analysis is being, or may be, carried out.
1. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to disclosures to competent authorities and to self-regulatory bodies where they perform supervisory functions, or to disclosure for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal activity.
1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, disclosure may take place between obliged entities that belong to the same group, or between such entities and their branches and subsidiaries established in third countries, provided that those branches and subsidiaries fully comply with the group-wide policies and procedures, including procedures for sharing information within the group, in accordance with Article 16, and that the group-wide policies and procedures comply with the requirements set out in this Regulation.
1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, disclosure may take place between obliged entities as referred to in Article 3, point (3)(a) and (b), or entities from third countries which impose requirements equivalent to those laid down in this Regulation, who perform their professional activities, whether as employees or not, within the same legal person or a larger structure to which the person belongs and which shares common ownership, management or compliance control, including networks or partnerships.
1. For obliged entities referred to in Article 3, points (1), (2), (3)(a) and (b), in cases relating to the same transaction involving two or more obliged entities, and by way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, disclosure may take place between the relevant obliged entities provided that they are located in the Union, or with entities in a third country which imposes requirements equivalent to those laid down in this Regulation, and that they are subject to professional secrecy and personal data protection requirements.
1. Where the obliged entities referred to in Article 3, point (3)(a) and (b), seek to dissuade a client from engaging in illegal activity, that shall not constitute disclosure within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this Article.