Estonian FIU urges firms to assign responsibility for AMLA readiness

Estonia’s Rahapesu Andmebüroo (FIU) recommends that obliged entities assign a person or team to track AMLA’s regulatory instruments and public consultations, and assess their effects on risk management, customer due diligence and monitoring. The advice is to prepare for future requirements while recognising that a consultation draft can change and is not a current requirement before final adoptionFIU.

The FIU recommends reviewing whether draft risk-assessment, customer-due-diligence and ongoing-monitoring instruments would require changes to internal rules or controls. Where draft instruments envisage extra data requirements or standardised formats, firms should plan any necessary changes to IT systems, data collection and reporting. Training programmes and working instructions should be updated as necessary after the relevant instruments are finally adopted. Firms can participate in consultations directly or through professional associations.

The instruments have different legal effects. AMLA prepares draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implementing technical standards (ITS) for Commission adoptionFIU. The FIU explains that Commission-adopted standards are binding under the applicable EU arrangementsFIU. It describes guidelines and recommendations as generally non-binding, but influential in supervisory practiceFIU. Article 54(3) of the AMLA Regulation nevertheless requires obliged entities, supervisors and FIUs to make every effort to comply with guidelines and recommendations; obliged entities must report compliance where the instrument requires it.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 generally applies from 10 July 2027Europa. Its later application date of 10 July 2029 concerns football agents and professional football clubs in respect of the transactions specified in Article 3(3)(o)Europa. The FIU identifies emerging instruments concerning business-wide risk assessments, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, linked transactions, group controls, suspicion-reporting formats and information exchange. It warns that expectations for data quality and the explanation and documentation of risk and due-diligence decisions may become more detailed.

The FIU places the start of AMLA’s direct supervision in 2028. Under the ordinary selection framework, AMLA assesses credit and financial institutions and groups operating in at least six Member States, including their home stateEuropa; Article 13(1) makes high residual risk the qualifying risk classification for selection, with further selection and additional country-level procedures in Article 13(2)–(3)Europa. Article 13 requires the first selection process to begin by 1 July 2027Europa and direct supervision to start six months after publication of the selected listEuropa. Non-financial obliged entities remain under national direct supervisionFIU.

Exceptional transfers can also bring a non-selected financial firm under AMLAFIU. Article 14 allows a financial supervisor to submit a reasoned request for AMLA to assume direct supervision of a particular non-selected obliged entityEuropa. The request must concern exceptional circumstances involving heightened money-laundering or terrorist-financing risk or compliance failuresEuropa. AMLA may accept only if supervisory measures proved ineffective against serious, repeated or systematic breaches; heightened risk or such breaches affect several group entities and the relevant supervisors agree EU coordination would be more effective; or the supervisor has a temporary, objective and demonstrable lack of capacity to address the risk adequately and promptlyEuropa. Article 32 provides a Commission-authorised route where AMLA’s request for national action concerning indications of serious, repeated or systematic breaches is not complied with or the required information is not supplied within ten working days. The FIU says suspicious transaction and activity reports in Estonia continue to go to Rahapesu AndmebürooFIU.

The FIU cites Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 Articles 12–14, 32, 49 and 53–54 and Rahapesu ja terrorismi rahastamise tõkestamise seadus § 49, while Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 Article 90 sets the AML Regulation’s application dates.