On 14 May 2018, the Council of the EU adopted the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD). The adoption of the 5MLD follows the European Parliament’s adoption of the Directive on 19 April 2018. The text adopted by the Council is in the same form as that adopted by the European Parliament except for minor drafting changes. The next step is for the 5MLD to be published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ). The Directive enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the OJ. It applies 18 months after its entry into force.