Europe’s newly established Authority for Anti‑Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) has launched a public consultation on a draft set of Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) addressing how breaches of anti‑money laundering and counter‑terrorist financing (AML/CFT) obligations should be classified and enforced across the European Union. The consultation, which runs through 9 March 2026, seeks stakeholder input on proposed criteria for pecuniary sanctions, administrative measures and periodic penalty payments under the new AML framework set out by the Sixth AML Directive (AMLD6).
This is one of AMLA’s early exercises in shaping consistent enforcement tools that will apply uniformly across EU Member States once fully adopted and reflects the authority’s broader mandate to drive convergence and effectiveness in the continent’s AML/CFT regime.
Standardizing Enforcement Across the EU
The draft RTS under Article 53(10) of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 (AMLD6) are intended to provide a common framework so that supervisors in different Member States classify breaches of AML/CFT obligations in the same way and apply sanctions and remedial measures on a consistent, proportionate basis.
Key elements under consultation include:
- Indicators for breach severity: Establishing a harmonised set of factors to determine whether a breach is minor, moderate, serious, or very serious. These indicators would guide supervisors in assessing the impact, repetition, duration and systemic nature of AML/CFT violations.
- Criteria for sanctions and administrative measures: Setting out criteria that national authorities should consider when deciding the level of pecuniary sanctions or whether administrative measures, such as restrictions on activities, suspension of authorisations or governance changes, are appropriate.
- Periodic penalty payments: Draft standards also define a methodology for imposing recurring penalties (e.g., daily or monthly fines) when obliged entities fail to comply with administrative measures in a timely manner.
The overall aim is to ensure proportionate, effective and dissuasive enforcement across the EU while avoiding divergent approaches that could disadvantage operators or create regulatory arbitrage.
Why the Consultation Matters
Under the new EU AML/CFT architecture, AMLA plays a central role in fostering cooperation, harmonisation and supervisory consistency among Member States. The authority is being established alongside the Anti‑Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) and AMLD6, which together replace fragmented national rules with a more unified legal framework.
The consultation on sanctions and enforcement complements other parallel public exercises covering areas such as customer due diligence and risk assessments, with the European Banking Authority having contributed preparatory work on these fronts before AMLA took over direct responsibility.
For obliged entities, including financial institutions and non‑financial actors subject to AML rules, the draft RTS represents potentially significant changes in how breaches are treated. The consultation provides an early opportunity for industry, regulators, academics and civil society to shape how enforcement tools will operate under the new regime.
Harmonizing AML Penalties and Measures
Historically, EU Member States have taken varying approaches to sanctioning AML/CFT breaches, leading to discrepancies in outcomes for similar violations. One of the consultation’s central goals is to ensure that similar infringements attract similar levels of sanction and intervention regardless of where they occur in the EU.
This aligns with AMLA’s broader objective of safeguarding the integrity of the EU financial system and improving cross‑border cooperation, a challenge mirrored in other regulatory initiatives focused on collaborative information‑sharing and enforcement.
What Stakeholders Are Being Asked
Respondents to the consultation are encouraged to consider several strategic and practical questions, including:
- Whether the proposed indicators for breach severity appropriately reflect the range of AML/CFT violations and their impact.
- How the criteria for determining the level of pecuniary sanctions align with risk‑based enforcement priorities.
- Whether the methodology for periodic penalty payments is sufficiently clear and enforceable without creating disproportionate burdens on smaller obliged entities.
The input gathered from these responses will influence how AMLA refines the draft RTS before they are submitted for endorsement by the European Commission and ultimately form part of the EU’s supervisory toolbox.
Broader Context for EU AML Reform
This consultation exercise is part of a wider transformation of AML/CFT regulation in the EU. Member States are preparing for the implementation of fully harmonised AML rules on issues ranging from risk assessment to supervision and enforcement as part of the broader framework.
The focus on enforcement criteria follows other recent changes in EU regulatory practice aimed at enhancing market integrity, such as the Top EU Court’s ruling in favour of Austria against Maltese operators, which underlines judicial influence on cross‑border market expectations, and ongoing efforts by national authorities to improve cooperation and effectiveness
For obliged entities operating in the EU, preparing for these changes is increasingly urgent as the AML/CFT framework evolves toward greater consistency, transparency and supervisory integration.