On 5 December 2022, the Council adopted its negotiation mandate on the proposal for a Regulation on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (AML Regulation). Importantly, the new EU anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules will be extended to the entire crypto sector, obliging all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to conduct due diligence on their customers. This means that they will have to verify facts and information about their customers. In its position, the Council demands CASPs to apply customer due diligence measures when carrying out transactions amounting to €1000 or more, and adds measures to mitigate risks in relation to transactions with self-hosted wallets. The Council also introduced specific enhanced due diligence measures for cross-border correspondent relationships for CASPs. Other noteworthy provisions include the introduction of an EU-wide maximum limit of €10.000 for cash payments (Member States will have the flexibility to impose a lower maximum limit if they wish), and the listing of third countries that are already listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) according to either a ‘grey list’ or a ‘blacklist’. Now that the Council has agreed its position on the AML Regulation and Directive, trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament will take place in order for the institutions to agree on a final version of the text.
