Europe’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) — whose creation was approved by the European Council in 2022 — will open its headquarters in Frankfurt, the financial capital of Germany. The oversight body should start its work in mid-2025.
The AMLA will have the authority to supervise “high-risk and cross-border financial entities” including crypto firms if they operate across borders or are considered high-risk. It will coordinate its oversight activities with European countries’ financial intelligence units and regulators.
On Feb. 22, the European Council revealed the city, where the body will be based. Frankfurt is a logical choice, given that the European Central Bank also resides in the city. The shortlist of alternative locations included Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius and Vienna.
The AMLA, staffed with over 400 employees, will begin its operations in mid-2025. Its general board will be composed of representatives of supervisors and financial intelligence units from all European Union (EU) member states, while the governing body, an executive board, will include the chair and five independent full-time members.
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The first comprehensive EU crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), came into force in June 2023, but the application of rules governing “asset-referenced tokens” and “e-money tokens,” which largely fall under the umbrella of stablecoins, is expected to take effect in June 2024. The rules for “crypto-asset service providers,” which include trading platforms, wallet providers, and cryptocurrency exchanges and services, will take effect in December 2024.
Meanwhile, the EU has been busy crafting regulations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). On Feb. 13, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Civil Liberties Committees approved the preliminary agreement on the European AI Act, the world’s first AI-focused legislation.
The AI Act aims to establish safeguards, including copyright protection for creators, in response to generative AI models. It also prohibits AI applications that pose a threat to citizens’ rights, like biometric categorization and social scoring. The first parliamentary vote on the AI Act is scheduled for April 2024.
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