On 21 October 2026, the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) signed an agreement to strengthen investigations into fraud and corruption by enhancing financial intelligence sharing between the two parties.
The agreement aims to integrate financial intelligence data to improve investigations into money laundering and terrorist financing. It also highlights the AMLA’s concerted effort as it prepares to supervise high-risk financial institutions directly from 2028 onwards.
The EU’s Fraud Prevention Intelligence Sharing Gap
Just one month ago, the European Commission evaluated the OLAF Regulation. In particular, it reviewed how effective OLAF is at protecting the EU’s financial interests, including detecting and investigating fraud, corruption, and other irregularities affecting EU money.
In its evaluation, the Commission noted that the agency’s current legal framework was broadly effective, but also recommended improvements in several areas. These areas included access to financial data and information exchange between authorities.
Investigating large criminal networks in isolation can be futile, especially when financial crime intelligence sits across multiple entities.
Harry Varatharasan, Chief Product Officer of ComplyCube, notes, “Cracking down on large financial crime networks can be complex. Information around suspicious transactions can sit within one company, while sanctions information can be held by law enforcement. Because intelligence is fragmented across multiple agencies, law enforcement, and firms, dismantling financial crime in isolation can be futile.”
The AMLA did not point to OLAF’s September evaluation as a trigger for the agreement. However, the arrangement aligns with efforts to identify weaknesses in financial crime intelligence sharing.
What are EU Regulators Concerned About?
By 2025, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) had identified over €67.27 billion in fraud damages, with revenue fraud (VAT and Customs) making up 67% of them. Additionally, up to €210 billion in suspicious activities and transactions occur within the EU financial system.
By combining the AMLA and OLAF’s expertise and information, we make the EU’s financial system harder to abuse and easier to protect.
However, illicit money can move in various forms. These include misused cryptocurrencies, complex shell companies, cash-intensive businesses, and more. As such, safeguarding the financial system requires coordinated effort across multiple agencies and businesses.
The Chair of AMLA, Bruna Szego, mentions, “Criminals do not respect institutional boundaries, and neither can our response. By combining our expertise and information, we make the EU’s financial system harder to abuse and easier to protect.”
AMLA Plans for a Single European Approach to Supervision
The agreement comes at a strategic time, as AMLA moves closer to becoming the EU’s central anti-money laundering authority by 2028. In particular, it will directly oversee 40 of the most complex high-risk financial institutions or groups in the EU.
1 January 2026: AMLA took over the European Banking Authority (EBA) functions, including risk assessments and AML supervision previously assumed by the EBA.
10 July 2027: The core EU AML Regulation (AMLR) starts kicking in. The AMLA will select the first 40 high-risk entities for direct supervision.
2028-2029: AMLA gains full supervisory powers over the 40 institutions. Meanwhile, other entities continue operating under the harmonized EU AMLR framework.
How Does AMLA Choose the 40 Entities?
Not all EU companies will fall under direct AMLA supervision. To be selected as one of the 40 most impactful financial institutions in the EU, an organization must meet several criteria:
- Cross-border impact: Entities must operate in at least six EU Member States.
- Data collection: National supervisors will collect relevant data from eligible institutions and submit them for AMLA assessment.
- Risk assessment: The AMLA will assess the submission. It will consider each institution’s inherent and residual ML/TF risk profile.
Inherent risk is an entity’s exposure to financial crime before compliance controls, while residual risk is the risk remaining after implementing controls. Under this harmonized risk assessment, the AMLA will select high-risk financial institutions. The selection process will repeat every three years.
The Future of EU AML Supervision
For businesses, this shifts AML compliance from a one-time checklist to an ongoing infrastructure that can keep pace with emerging financial crime threats. Additionally, the AMLA and OLAF’s joint agreement highlights a crucial message: effective financial crime controls depend on connected intelligence and continuous compliance. For regulated businesses, the takeaway is clear:
- Intelligence sharing is becoming increasingly central to financial crime and fraud prevention. EU companies must strengthen Due Diligence Client (CDD), suspicious activity reporting, and clear audits to build trust as regulators expect smarter intelligence sharing.
- Surveillance fondée sur les risques must be proactive and anticipate future threats. The central question businesses must keep is how to strengthen the connection between their financial crime controls to identify new money laundering faster. You can learn more here: Qu’est-ce qu’une approche fondée sur les risques ?
- Transparent audit trails and strong governance are non-negotiable. To demonstrate regulator readiness, maintain reliable reporting mechanisms with time logs and clear risk assessments that can substantiate compliance decisions.
Pour en savoir plus sur l'actualité en matière de lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent, consultez ComplyCube. Bulletin d'information Trust Edition. Nous explorons les dernières évolutions en matière de vérification d'identité et de lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent à l'échelle mondiale.
