Dr Marcus Pleyer Emphasizes Uniform AML Rules Across EU as Key Focus for New AMLA Regulator

Dr Marcus Pleyer, one of the final three candidates for the chairmanship of the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), has stressed that the primary mission of the new regulatory body should be to standardize anti-money laundering (AML) rules across all 27 EU member states. Speaking at the International Anti-Financial Crime Summit 2024, Dr Pleyer explained that the AMLA must simplify and harmonize regulations for financial institutions throughout the bloc.

“AMLA will directly supervise the 40 highest risk-obliged [financial] entities,” Dr Pleyer said during his keynote address at the conference. However, he highlighted that this represents only a fraction of the financial sector. “[However], this is a superficial few, and it means that all the rest of thousands of obliged entities will still be under the supervision of the member states,” he noted.

Dr Pleyer emphasized that the real challenge for the AMLA will be ensuring "supervisory convergence" across Europe. "AMLA’s task is to get ready for supervisory convergence all over Europe – it will bring all 27 [member state] supervisors to sing from the same songbook. To do exactly the same things,” he said, stressing the importance of a consistent approach to supervision and enforcement.

Currently, AML rules differ between member states, which Dr Pleyer sees as a significant issue. He explained that financial regulators in various EU countries “understand risk differently,” which leads to discrepancies in the way AML rules are applied. Dr Pleyer said it is crucial to establish a “uniform” approach to ensure effective oversight across the entire EU.

“We will have the same way of imposing sanctions, the same way of checking internal controls in obliged entities,” he explained. "We need to apply exactly the same aspects when we assess risk, so there will be a methodology to this assessment all over Europe.”

Dr Pleyer acknowledged that achieving this supervisory convergence would be a significant task for the AMLA. “So there is a huge list for AMLA to achieve this supervisory convergence,” he remarked, making it clear that the authority's work would require substantial coordination and effort.

His comments at the summit provide a clear insight into what his regulatory approach could look like if appointed as head of the AMLA. Last week, AML Intelligence revealed that Dr Pleyer, currently the deputy director general at the German Federal Finance Ministry, topped the rankings in a shortlist of prospective candidates for the position, which was submitted to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

Dr Pleyer is considered one of the world’s foremost experts in anti-financial crime. From 2020 to 2022, he served as president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), during which time he gained international recognition for steering the organization through the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to his experience with the FATF, Dr Pleyer has held several senior roles within German regulatory bodies, including as a supervisor with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

By fLEXI tEAM