6AMLD

The 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive is European legislation preventing money laundering and terrorism financing in Europe. It also expands the scope of the 5AMLD.

The 6AMLD replaced the 5AMLD in December 2020. All member states must have implemented the Directive by June 2021. Whereas the 5AMLD widens the scope of AML/CFT policies, the 6AMLD gives more power to financial institutions and authorities to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing and implements stricter criminal penalties.

More specifically, the 6AMLD provides a list of 22 offenses constituting money laundering including cyber-crime. Criminal liability was also expanded to legal persons, including companies and partnerships. The Directive increases the prison penalty from 1 to 4 years for a money laundering offense. It also emphasizes that member states should cooperate together by sharing required information.

Link to the directive.