CySEC urges Cyprus firms to join AMLA anti-money laundering consultations

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Wednesday informed regulated entities of two public consultations launched by the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), urging them to participate in shaping new EU anti-money laundering rules. The first consultation concerns draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) under Article 69(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, which establish the format for reporting suspicious transactions and submitting transaction records. CySEC said the draft ITS, interpretative note, annexes and consultation response form are available on AMLA’s website, with comments accepted until September 20, 2026. It also informed regulated entities that AMLA will hold a public hearing on September 9, 2026, between 10am and 12pm CEST, with registration available through the consultation webpage. The second consultation covers draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under Article 40(2) of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, also known as AMLD 6, concerning the assessment of the inherent and residual money laundering and terrorist financing risk profiles of obliged entities in the non-financial sector. CySEC said the draft RTS, Annexes I and II, and the consultation response form are also available on AMLA’s website, while comments must be submitted by September 27, 2026. AMLA has scheduled a second public hearing on September 10, 2026, from 10am until 12pm CEST, with registration available through the same consultation page. CySEC also directed regulated entities to AMLA’s accompanying press release, factsheet and sector-specific surveys. The commission stressed that both consultations are open to all stakeholders, but drew particular attention to the RTS consultation because it directly concerns non-financial sector obliged entities, including Administrative Service Providers and crowdfunding service providers supervised by CySEC. According to AMLA, input from affected businesses and professionals is essential in shaping the authority’s final approach, and CySEC urged regulated entities to respond to the substantive consultation papers. AMLA said the consultations are open to all stakeholders with an interest in the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework. This includes obliged entities, supervisory authorities, financial intelligence units, public authorities, self-regulatory bodies, international organisations, consumer representatives, academia and investigative journalists. The authority explained that the consultation on the RTS seeks feedback on the proposed methodology for assessing and classifying the money laundering and terrorist financing risks of non-financial sector obliged entities, as well as on the proportionality of the proposed data requirements, the treatment of smaller entities, the operational feasibility of the reporting framework and the expected costs and implementation challenges. According to AMLA, the proposed rules would establish a common methodology across all EU member states, ensuring that similar businesses are assessed consistently regardless of where they operate. The authority said the framework would help supervisors allocate resources more effectively by enabling them to identify higher-risk businesses while providing more predictable risk assessments for firms operating across multiple jurisdictions. AMLA explained that the methodology has been tailored to reflect the different risk profiles of sectors such as legal services, estate agencies, online gambling operators and football clubs, with separate reporting requirements designed for each type of activity. The authority also proposed lighter reporting obligations for smaller businesses, saying entities identified by staff numbers and turnover would submit a reduced set of information focused on identifying higher-risk cases and would not be required to report on the quality of their anti-money laundering controls. It added that supervisors would still be able to take account of relevant information already in their possession rather than requesting duplicate data from businesses. Under AMLA’s proposal, the common methodology would apply from December 2028, with the first risk assessments using the new framework expected in 2029, while football clubs and football agents would be subject to a later implementation timetable. Until then, national supervisors would continue using their existing methodologies while preparing for the transition to the harmonised EU-wide system. AMLA encouraged obliged entities to complete the survey relevant to their sector, or multiple surveys where they operate across different sectors, in addition to the general questionnaires available to all participants. The authority also said it welcomes further proposals aimed at reducing the administrative burden on small entities and national supervisory authorities before the methodology is finalised.