Spain formally presents Madrid's bid to become the seat of the EU's new anti-money laundering authority

The bid has the backing of the Government of Spain, the Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council, and was presented by the Secretary General of the Treasury and International Finance, Carlos Cuerpo, the Director General of Economy of the Community of Madrid, Juan Manuel López Zafra and the Director General of International Relations of the Madrid City Council, José Francisco Herrera.

Among the strengths of Madrid's bid are Spain's sound regulatory and institutional framework for the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which is highly experienced and internationally recognised. It has received the highest ratings from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog in the field.

They also highlight the capital's good living conditions, public services, geographical location and infrastructure as strong points of the candidacy.

Spain's leadership in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism

Spain has a system for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, with internationally recognised experience and effectiveness, and has the best ratings from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog in the field.

According to the agency's ratings, Spain is the leading country in the European Union in the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, among other things thanks to the use of innovative technologies and financial intelligence.

Spain is currently the only country in the world where 10 out of 11 indicators assessing the effectiveness of its system for preventing and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism are rated as 'Substantial' or 'High'. This high rating places Spain as one of the countries with the most secure money laundering prevention systems.

The FATF particularly values Spain's financial intelligence system and supervisory model. The Spanish Financial Intelligence Unit, SEPBLAC, is an institution with internationally recognised professionals and a similar model to the one that AMLA will have, according to the European regulation for the creation of this new authority, with competences both in terms of supervision and coordination of financial intelligence functions. This experience is a further strength of Madrid's bid.

Other strengths of the Spanish project

Good living conditions and public services for future AMLA employees are another of the criteria used by the European authorities and one of the strengths of the Spanish bid.

In addition, Madrid has in its favour its status as an international capital, its high-level professionals, its geographical location and its magnificent infrastructures.

On the other hand, Madrid has already selected the physical venue that would host AMLA should its bid be successful. This is the Torre de Cristal, one of the so-called "four towers", the four large landmark buildings in the financial district of the Spanish capital.

In addition, the bid has strong support from institutions, civil society and all public and private organisations involved in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Strengthening the European framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism

On 20 July 2021, the European Commission presented an ambitious package of legislative proposals to strengthen EU rules against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This package, which is already endorsed by the Council, also includes the proposal for the creation of AMLA.

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