On 6 June 2023, the European Commission issued a press release welcoming political agreement on the proposal for a Directive on the access of competent authorities to centralised bank account registries through the single access point.

The draft Directive complements the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which establishes the interconnection of bank account registers, by providing law enforcement authorities access to the interconnected registers.

In particular, the draft Directive:

• Gives law enforcement authorities and Asset Recovery Offices direct access to bank account information across the EU, through the single access point interconnecting bank account registries.
• Establishes a common format for banks and crypto companies to provide the information on transactions – i.e., transaction records – to law enforcement authorities. The specifics of the format will be defined in an implementing act. Access to this information will be granted in accordance with national rules and procedural safeguards.

The draft Directive must still be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.