The Government of Spain supports Madrid's candidacy to host the headquarters of the EU's anti-money laundering authority

Together with representatives from Madrid City Council, the Secretary General of the Treasury, Carlos Cuerpo, has held meetings in Brussels to promote this candidacy with the MEPs responsible for evaluating the process and the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

It is a project promoted by Madrid City Council and backed by the Government of Spain, substantiated by important assets in Madrid and Spain.

On the one hand, Madrid has major draws as an international financial centre and due to its geographical location, infrastructure and living conditions. In addition, Spain has extensive experience and commitment in the field of international policies to prevent and counter money laundering and terrorist financing, with high ratings from the International Financial Analysis Group (FATF), a benchmark organisation in this field.

In particular, the FATF particularly values Spain's financial intelligence system and supervisory model. In addition, the Spanish financial sector stands out for its high awareness of anti-money laundering prevention policies.

"Spain is firmly committed to implementing international standards in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and is one of the best qualified countries in the world in terms of the effectiveness of its prevention system and its technical, operational and effective solvency", stressed the Secretary General.

Spain is currently the only country in the world where 10 of the 11 Immediate Outcomes assessed by the FATF have obtained a rating of 'Substantial' or 'High'. Furthermore, according to the same organisation, Spain is the best country in the EU and is among the four best countries in the world when it comes to producing and using financial intelligence, and is also one of only two EU countries to have obtained the highest rating for implementing preventive measures by the private sector, highlighting the high level of involvement in the preventive system of the responsible parties.

For her part, the General Coordinator for the Mayor's Office, Matilde García Duarte, stressed that the city of Madrid "is offering a building in the city's financial centre, with the highest standards of sustainability and excellent transport links", and that "Madrid has the best conditions for living and working, is sunny and green, is a vibrant, artistic, gastronomic and sporty city, with the best digital and transport infrastructures, which make it one of the preferred destinations for professionals".

New European authority

In order to promote the efficient functioning of the framework for countering money laundering and terrorist financing, the European Union has agreed to establish a specific anti-money laundering authority.

Given the cross-border nature of crime, the new authority is expected to make an important and useful contribution to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Among other functions, this authority will contribute to standardising and coordinating supervisory practices in the financial and non-financial sectors, directly supervising cross-border and high-risk financial institutions and coordinating financial intelligence units.

Non official translation