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Frankfurt am Main: The new authority is expected to initially have up to 500 employees
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Florian Gaul / greatif / IMAGO
The European Union's new anti-money laundering authority is to be located in Frankfurt am Main.
The majority of representatives of the EU states and the European Parliament voted in favor of the headquarters of the so-called Amla (Anti-Money Laundering Authority) in the Main metropolis, as the Belgian EU Council Presidency announced.
This means that Germany's bid for the seat won against eight European capitals.
The EU Commission proposed a joint anti-money laundering authority in 2021.
The Amla is intended to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU.
It is intended to directly supervise credit and financial institutions that operate across borders and are considered high risk, including providers of crypto asset services.
It should also coordinate and support the national supervisory authorities.
In addition to Frankfurt, Rome, Vienna, Vilnius, Riga, Dublin, Madrid, Brussels and Paris also applied as locations for the new authority.
Paris and Madrid were recently considered the fiercest rivals in the months-long selection process, and Dublin was also given chances.
According to the information, Frankfurt received the smallest possible majority.
All-in-one supervision at just one location
The Hessian city is already home to the European Central Bank (ECB), which not only sets key interest rates and strives for price stability, but also supervises the largest banks.
In addition, the EU insurance supervisory authority EIOPA is based in Frankfurt.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner personally supported the Main metropolis.
With the authority in Frankfurt called Amla, there could be unified supervision in the fight against money laundering at just one location.
The authority is expected to initially have up to 500 employees.
It is intended to directly check around 200 companies across Europe, primarily banks and financial service providers.
It is also planned that it will develop recommendations for national authorities.
Three potential buildings have been reserved in Frankfurt for the Amla.
Germany supported the project with ten million euros.
The money is intended to help you get operational quickly in the first few years.
EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis congratulated Frankfurt.
The new authority will fundamentally change the fight against dirty money, he wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
eru/dpa/Reuters