The European Court of Auditors (ECA) recently announced its audit of the EU’s AML efforts in the banking sector. This audit will investigate how well EU legislations have been transposed onto the national-level AML laws in different member states. It will also look at the risks to the EU’s internal market and how they are managed. Additionally, the audit will evaluate the effectiveness of coordination and collaboration between national- and EU-level authorities.
The worth of money-laundering in the EU reaches over hundreds of billions of dollars annually, with the banking system involved intimately. The EU’s first AML directive came in 1991, the latest amendment to which was made in 2018. Still, money-laundering has grown as a challenge to the EU.
The European Commission, the European Banking Authority and governments of the EU member states together formulate and update AML regulations. These authorities have recently emphasized the importance of consolidating the EU’s AML/CFT policies. ECA’s audit comes in the light of this emphasis on EU-wide AML regulations.
