AMLA Opens Consultations on AML Penalties, Customer Due Diligence and Transaction Controls

AMLA Opens Consultations on AML Penalties, Customer Due Diligence and Transaction Controls

Europe’s new anti-money laundering authority has opened a significant set of public consultations, signalling a further shift towards tighter and more standardised controls for banks, fintechs, crypto firms and non-financial businesses operating across the bloc.

On 9 February 2026, the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) launched three parallel consultations on draft Regulatory Technical Standards covering customer due diligence, criteria for identifying business relationships and linked transactions, and a harmonised framework for sanctions and periodic penalty payments. Together, the proposals form part of the implementation of the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, designed to replace divergent national approaches with directly applicable rules.

In its consultation papers, AMLA says the objective is to move the EU away from fragmented national interpretations of AML requirements and towards clearer and more proportionate standards applied consistently across Member States, sectors and supervisory authorities.

For regulated firms, the direction is clear. AML compliance in Europe is becoming more prescriptive at the point of customer onboarding and transaction assessment, and more structured and predictable in the way supervisory enforcement is applied.

This article explores:

• what AMLA’s February 2026 consultations cover and why they matter
• how EU standards are tightening the application of customer due diligence triggers
• what proposed changes to beneficial ownership verification and digital onboarding mean in practice
• how AMLA intends to harmonise AML penalties and supervisory enforcement
• why linked transactions and anti-structuring controls are a growing regulatory focus
• the practical implications for MLROs, compliance leaders and regulated firms

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