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AMLA moves towards standardised suspicious-activity reporting across member states, with common templates intended to improve the quality, consistency and automated analysis of information submitted to FIUs

September 20, 2026

Efforts to create a more consistent AML framework across the EU are beginning to reach the practical mechanics of how firms report suspicious activity to national authorities. A consultation by the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) on technical standards for reporting suspicions and providing transaction records to Financial Intelligence Units closed on 20 September. The proposals would introduce common reporting templates for obliged entities and standardised transaction-record formats for financial institutions across the EU. Greater consistency should make reports easier for FIUs to process and compare, while supporting more automated submission and analysis.

EP calls for an urgent, coordinated EU crackdown on drug-trafficking networks, targeting ports, intelligence gaps, financial channels, maritime surveillance and international cooperation

September 17, 2026

MEPs call for stronger cooperation between customs, police and judicial authorities, better information sharing and more resources for law enforcement. A major concern is the exploitation of European ports and maritime routes by organised crime groups, with Parliament calling for stronger port security and improved monitoring of trafficking routes.

AMLA plans to coordinate its first joint FIU analysis exercise by end-2026 to identify cross-border ML patterns and align national intelligence approaches

September 15, 2026

AMLA is developing common risk-assessment methodologies and a common supervisory approach to help identify sectoral and geographic vulnerabilities and translate them into supervisory priorities. From July 2027, Article 75 of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation will enable information-sharing partnerships between financial institutions under specified conditions. AMLA and the European Data Protection Board are developing joint guidelines…

AMLA outlines its Crypto Action Plan for 2026 and beyond, focusing on stronger EU-wide understanding of crypto-related ML/TF risks, greater supervisory convergence and enhanced blockchain analytics

September 15, 2026

At the 10th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets in Luxembourg, AMLA Executive Board Member Simonas Krepšta noted that AMLA’s ongoing crypto-sector risk analysis will feed into a forthcoming report, while stressing that despite the stronger framework under MiCA and the new EU AML/CFT package, fragmented blockchain analytics and remaining vulnerabilities require a coordinated EU-level response…

Europol crackdown on a Camorra-linked Italian organised crime network leads to 6 arrests across Germany, Italy and Spain over the large-scale production and distribution of counterfeit euros

September 11, 2026

Investigators allege the group produced high-quality counterfeit banknotes in Italy and supplied them wholesale to criminal organisations in Germany and Spain, with several hundred thousand counterfeit notes believed to have entered circulation; raids also uncovered counterfeit euros, firearms, drugs and digital devices. Europol supported the operation with intelligence-sharing and financial analysis, highlighting how sophisticated…

EC adopts Delegated Regulation extending central contact point requirements to cross-border Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and strengthening AML/CFT oversight

September 10, 2026

A contact point may be required where a CASP’s activities exceed €3 million annually, where AML/CFT risks warrant it, or where authorities identify heightened ML/TF risks. The measure gives local contact points responsibilities for AML/CFT compliance, oversight, corrective action and liaison with host-country authorities and FIUs…

Europol dismantles a major underground banking network serving organised crime and drug-trafficking groups, arresting 21 suspects and identifying around €20M in assets

September 8, 2026

The operation resulted in 21 arrests and the identification of around €20 million in assets, including cash and luxury goods, while investigators uncovered an informal financial system operating across multiple countries to transfer criminal proceeds outside the regulated banking sector. The case highlights the growing role of professional underground bankers in providing organised crime with cross-border money-transfer and laundering services…

AMLA holds a public hearing on 9 Sept on draft ITS for reporting suspicions and transaction records to FIUs, aimed at harmonising reporting formats and supporting greater automation; comments by 20 Sept

September 4, 2026

The aim is to address the current fragmentation between Member States, making reporting clearer for firms particularly those operating across borders and giving FIUs more complete, structured and comparable intelligence that can be processed and acted on more efficiently. Importantly, the templates are intended to be implemented by all FIUs and by obliged entities that choose to automate their internal reporting processes rather than use an FIU’s reporting platform, meaning firms should consider the potential impact on their STR data fields, reporting workflows, systems…

Luxembourg CSSF’s Annual Report reveals 6,135 AML/CFT supervisory measures and 504 observation letters, with inspections finding sanctions-alert backlogs, delayed SARs and compliance gaps

September 4, 2026

CSSF highlights significant AML/CFT weaknesses identified in 2025 inspections, including large backlogs of sanctions-screening alerts left untreated for months, incomplete customer and screening databases, and suspicious activity reports filed several months late. The regulator also found weaknesses in Compliance Officer controls and follow-up, warning firms that AML/KYC must go beyond document collection to assess whether customer activity remains consistent with their risk profile…

EPPO and Chinese prosecutors launch a 2026–2028 action plan to tackle organised crime, ML and corruption, with a focus on judicial cooperation and recovering illicit assets

September 2, 2026

EPPO and China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate have signed a working arrangement to strengthen judicial cooperation on organised crime affecting the EU’s financial interests, AML, corruption and the recovery of illicit assets. The agreement establishes practical arrangements for cooperation between the authorities under their respective legal frameworks and is supported by a 2026–2028 action plan aimed at developing more effective cooperation…

Europol’s report on ‘Museum Heists’ reveals increasingly violent and organised thefts, with criminals targeting high-value artefacts, precious metals and gemstones for lucrative resale through illicit markets

August 24, 2026

The report also identifies a changing criminal landscape, with ad-hoc groups recruited through social media and offenders from other criminal markets becoming involved because museum heists can offer potentially high profits. These crimes increasingly involve cross-border organised crime networks and illegal trafficking of cultural goods, requiring stronger international cooperation and intelligence sharing…

Europol’s ATLAS Network 2026 Annual Report highlights stronger cross-border action against terrorism and organised crime, with 1,500+ specialist operators involved in 50 activities across 33 countries

August 13, 2026

The ATLAS Network 2026 Annual Activity Report provides an overview of how Europe’s specialist police intervention units are strengthening their ability to respond to terrorism, serious organised crime and emerging security threats. The report highlights cross-border cooperation, joint exercises and operational training in areas such as urban, maritime and high-risk environments, alongside the development of new tactical capabilities and technologies…

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