European Economic Area: AML/CTF Regime

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority submitted its first package of regulatory technical standards to the European Commission on 1 October 2026, covering customer due diligence, business relationships and linked transactions, and group-wide requirements under AML Regulation Articles 10(4) and 69(3). The package is proposed to apply six months after entry into force. This submission is reported through a secondary source; AMLA's own publication of the submission was not independently opened this cycle, which caps confidence at probable rather than confirmed. The standing architecture against which this submission sits is the directly-applicable EU AML Regulation, the sixth AML Directive as transposed per Member State, and the AMLA Regulation establishing the Anti-Money Laundering Authority itself, which together shift supervision from purely national authorities toward a hybrid EU-level regime for the highest-risk obliged entities. The AML Regulation and sixth AML Directive architecture remains on track for full application from 10 July 2027, and AMLA's first regulatory technical standards package is a structural step in that build-out, affecting banks, crypto-asset operators, payment companies, gambling operators and cross-sector firms as the firm types named in the obligation.

Separately, FATF held no plenary within this cycle's window; the grey list stands at 22 jurisdictions as set at the 19 June 2026 plenary, where Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraq were added and Algeria and Namibia were removed. The next FATF plenary is scheduled for 26-30 October 2026 in Paris.

Outlook

The AMLA regulatory technical standards package now sits with the European Commission; its progression toward adoption is the next development to watch ahead of the 10 July 2027 full-application date for the AML Regulation and sixth AML Directive architecture. FATF's 26-30 October 2026 Paris plenary is the next point at which the grey list could move from its current 22-jurisdiction composition.