On 19 April 2023, the European Parliament announced that, MEPs will open talks with the Council of the EU on reforming the EU’s anti-money laundering rules to help authorities crack down on the illicit flow on money and assets.

The European Parliament has approved its negotiating mandates for proposals reforming the EU’s policies on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The first meeting to start negotiations with the representatives of EU ministers will take place at the beginning of May.

The draft laws foresee new due diligence rules for businesses to verify customers’ identity, what they own and who controls them, and grant people with a legitimate interest (for example journalists, civil society organisations, and higher education institutions) access to beneficial ownership registers, among other provisions. Finally, the package would create a European AML authority with supervisory and investigative powers to enforce the rules consistently.