15 July 2026
AMLA ¦ AMLA Chair Presents 2025 Consolidated Annual Activity Report to the European Parliament
AMLA’s first annual report signals a new phase in EU anti-money laundering oversight
The Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, or AMLA, used its first official annual report to show how far it moved in 2025 – from a legal concept to a functioning European authority with staff, governance, premises, and an initial supervisory and intelligence agenda.
The report makes clear that 2025 was not a year of full delivery, but a year of construction. AMLA was created as the EU body designed to strengthen the consistency and effectiveness of the bloc’s AML/CFT framework, and its first year was shaped by the realities of building an institution while also preparing to exercise highly technical powers. That included setting up governance, recruiting staff, establishing systems, signing cooperation agreements, and preparing the first wave of regulatory and supervisory work.
A start-up authority with a heavy mandate
AMLA’s leadership describes 2025 as a start-up phase marked by speed, pressure and rapid growth. The Authority began the year with a small team and ended it with 119 staff members drawn from 24 Member States. At the same time, it had to build core functions almost from scratch – human resources, finance, procurement, IT, security, facilities and policy work all had to be created while the institution was already being asked to deliver.
That tension between institution-building and operational expectation runs through the report. AMLA was legally established on 1 July 2025, but until 31 December 2025 the European Commission remained responsible for its establishment and initial operation. In practical terms, that meant the first year was a transition period, with the Commission handling budget implementation while AMLA prepared for financial autonomy from 1 January 2026.
Governance took shape quickly
The report places strong emphasis on governance, and for good reason. AMLA’s General Board, Executive Board, Chair and Executive Director all became operational during the year. The first General Board meeting took place in March 2025, followed by the inaugural Executive Board meeting in June. Bruna Szego was appointed Chair in January and took office in February, while Nicolas Vasse was appointed Executive Director in July and took up his duties in September.
The report suggests that this leadership structure was not just formal; it was essential to giving the Authority credibility. AMLA also concluded key cooperation agreements with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), while laying the groundwork for cooperation with Europol, Eurojust, OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
The first strategic documents set the tone
AMLA’s first Work Programme focused on immediate operational readiness, including recruitment, digital infrastructure and administrative setup. Later in the year, the Authority adopted its first Single Programming Document for 2026–2028, which sets out a broader strategic direction based on convergence, consistency, cooperation, technology, accountability and global leadership.
That is a notable signal. AMLA is not presenting itself as a narrow technical agency. It is framing its mission as a system-building project, one that aims to reduce fragmentation across Member States and create a more coherent AML/CFT architecture across the Union.
Direct supervision is being built on data and methodology
One of the most important themes in the report is preparation for AMLA’s future direct supervision of selected obliged entities. Rather than starting with enforcement, AMLA spent 2025 developing the methodology that will underpin selection for direct supervision, including the first common methodology for assessing money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the financial sector.
In December 2025, AMLA sent two regulatory technical standards (RTS) to the European Commission for adoption and launched a public consultation on an implementing technical standard (ITS) covering cooperation between AMLA and national supervisors during entity selection and transfer of supervisory powers. This matters because AMLA’s credibility in direct supervision will depend on whether the selection process is seen as transparent, risk-based and consistent across the Union.
The report shows that AMLA is trying to build that foundation early. It is also clear that the Authority knows the system it is entering is fragmented, with very different national supervisory practices and levels of maturity across sectors.
Indirect supervision already began to bite
Even before direct supervision starts, AMLA has begun its indirect supervisory work. In 2025, the Authority focused on high-risk areas, especially crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), which were singled out because of their cross-border models, technological complexity and potential for anonymity-enhancing abuse.
AMLA also participated in eight supervisory colleges from November 2025, worked with national supervisors on more than five high-risk cases, and began gathering information on thematic reviews planned for 2026. That is important because indirect supervision is where AMLA will try to drive convergence before it takes on a more hands-on role.
The report makes the point that convergence is a response to divergent national practices that can create weak spots criminals can exploit.
The non-financial sector is on the radar too
AMLA’s remit is not limited to banks and other financial firms. The report shows that it also began building its approach to oversight of the non-financial sector in 2025. A questionnaire sent to national supervisors at the end of June produced responses from more than 120 authorities, which AMLA analysed into a report to inform its work from 2026 onward.
That effort is notable because the non-financial sector often receives less attention than banks, despite being exposed to significant misuse risks in areas such as legal services, accountancy, real estate and other professions. AMLA’s early work suggests it intends to treat this part of the system as structurally important, not secondary.
FIU cooperation became a major pillar
Another major development in 2025 was the build-out of AMLA’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) pillar. The Authority welcomed the first FIU Delegates in September, grew FIU-related staffing from three to 14 by year-end, and began working on joint analyses, peer reviews, FIU.net and data collection.
This part of the report is especially important because it shows AMLA trying to strengthen the intelligence side of AML/CFT, not just supervision. Peer review pilots were launched for 2026 and 2027, with a focus on the adequacy of FIU resources in the first cycle. AMLA also adopted rules for mediation and provisional peer review, while continuing work on mutual assistance, the Standing Committee and other policy tools.
The direction of travel is clear: AMLA wants to make FIU cooperation more consistent, more secure and more operationally useful.
Data, technology and EuReCA became central
The report gives unusually strong attention to data and technology. AMLA began laying the foundations for its central AML/CFT database, its data governance framework, and its future analytical capabilities. It also took over EuReCA , the EU reporting system for material AML/CFT weaknesses, from the European Banking Authority (EBA) in October 2025.
That handover is significant. EuReCA gives AMLA a live supervisory intelligence source, and the report shows that 1,385 submissions were reported in 2025 by 45 authorities covering 213 entities. The most common weaknesses related to customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, high-risk products and services, and geographical exposure.
The report also notes that EUR 39.5 million in fines were imposed through measures reported in EuReCA. More importantly, it suggests that AMLA is now in a position to turn supervisory data into trend analysis, risk signals and targeted follow-up. In financial crime terms, that is the difference between recording failures and using those failures to change behaviour.
Stakeholder engagement was unusually broad
AMLA’s Chair visited all 27 Member States in 2025, meeting supervisors, FIUs and private-sector representatives. The report presents this roadshow as a key learning exercise, and that seems right. The feedback AMLA gathered pointed to a fast-changing risk landscape, resource pressure, technological challenges and high expectations for the new Authority.
That outreach matters because AMLA’s success will depend on trust. The report repeatedly returns to the idea that AMLA must work with national authorities, Union institutions and the private sector if it wants to be effective. In practical terms, this means AMLA cannot operate like a distant rule-maker. It has to show that it understands the operational reality on the ground.
Financial and staffing data show the scale of the build-up
The report records total expenditure of EUR 12,898,943 in 2025. Of that, most was staff and administrative spending, including premises, IT and fit-out costs. The Authority also received a EUR 3 million host-country contribution from Germany, alongside EU funding.
On staffing, the year-end figure of 119 staff members tells the story of rapid scale-up. The report also notes a gender balance of 51% female and 49% male overall, with 57% female and 43% male in managerial roles. For a new authority, that is a substantial organisational build-up in a very short time.
Why this matters for financial crime professionals
For banks, fintechs, crypto firms, legal and professional services providers, national supervisors and compliance teams, the message of this report is that the EU’s AML architecture is entering a new phase. AMLA is becoming the central institution around which convergence, supervision, intelligence sharing and technical standards will increasingly revolve.
The first year did not produce a mature supervisory regime, and it was never expected to. But it did produce something more important at this stage: the scaffolding for one. The coming years will show whether AMLA can turn that scaffolding into a system that is clearer, more consistent and more effective in practice.
If 2025 was the year of establishment, 2026 will be the year when the real test begins.
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