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The European Parliament, an arm of the European Union (EU), has declared a provisional agreement with the European Council to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) measures. The agreement must be formally adopted by both the European Parliament and the European Council before it can take effect.
According to a press release from the European Parliament, this provisional deal forms part of an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package. This package is designed for implementation by banks and other entities to shield EU markets from illegal financial activities. The new provisions would empower Financial Intelligence Units with increased authority, facilitating them in detecting illicit activities and suspending "suspicious transactions."
In its own press release, the European Council revealed that these new provisions would be applicable to most crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). These providers will be required to conduct enhanced due diligence on their customers. This process will include additional steps to verify customer identities and heightened scrutiny of transactions exceeding 1,000 Euro or any suspicious transactions. Furthermore, these provisions establish an EU-wide limit of 10,000 Euro for cash transactions. According to the Council, this "will make it harder for criminals to launder dirty money."
