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Frankfurt has been chosen by the European Parliament and Council as the seat of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which will serve as the EU’s new enforcer in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

In a joint vote on Thursday (February 22), members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and EU ambassadors  Frankfurt to host the EU’s central enforcer in the fight against dirty money, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA).

“AMLA will be a game-changer in cracking down on dirty money in the EU,” commented MEPs Emil Radev and Eva Maria Poptcheva, who had been co-rapporteurs in the Parliament. 

The new AMLA will oversee AML law in the EU, act as an enabler for collaboration between financial intelligence units in member states, and supervise the riskiest financial entities, which could include payment and e-money institutions, as well as crypto-asset service providers. 

The AMLA will also be responsible for overseeing the non-financial sector, and play a crucial role in stopping evaders from circumventing targeted financial sanctions.

“Now that Parliament has an equal say in choosing the agency’s seat, we have made the process more transparent with joint public hearings, and introduced specific selection criteria to ensure that the location enables the authority to fully execute its tasks and powers,” the MEPs said. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Germany’s finance minister  that “the federal government has campaigned intensively for Frankfurt am Main as the headquarters of the AMLA”.

“We want to further strengthen the financial centre because competition has become fiercer. As an authority with a European perspective, it will take efforts in the fight against money laundering to a new level.”

Nine candidates in total applied to host AMLA and presented their candidacies in joint public hearings.

In the vote, Frankfurt received a majority of validly cast votes on the first round of voting, and was chosen to host the agency.

The city is a key financial hub in the EU, and is home to the European Central Bank, as well as key German banks such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. 

This vote was the first time that a new EU agency’s host city had been agreed between the European Parliament and the Council on an equal footing, following a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling to that effect.

The AMLA regulation is part of a wider package of laws to reform the EU’s framework for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing. 

Now that the entire package has been provisionally agreed between the Parliament and the Council, it needs to be formally adopted by both before it can enter into law, with MEPs expected to vote on its final approval in the plenary session of April 22-25.

Once adopted, the AMLA regulation will apply from July 2025. 

Before then, the European Commission will be responsible for establishing the authority and for its initial operations.