CySEC alerts investment firms to new EU anti-money laundering rules

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a new circular informing regulated entities about new public consultations launched by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority.

The circular was addressed to Cyprus Investment Firms, Administrative Service Providers, UCITS management companies, internally managed UCITS, alternative investment fund managers, internally managed AIFs and AIFLNPs, companies with the sole purpose of managing AIFLNPs, crypto asset service providers, small AIFMs, and crowdfunding service providers.

CySEC informed the market that the Anti-Money Laundering Authority has launched public consultations on draft Regulatory Technical Standards under new European Union anti-money laundering legislation.

The consultations concern Article 19(9) and Article 28(1) of Regulation EU 2024/1624, known as the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, as well as Article 53(10) of Directive EU 2024/1640, referred to as AMLD 6.

The draft standards under Article 19(9) relate to criteria for business relationships, occasional transactions and linked transactions, as well as lower thresholds.

The draft standards under Article 28(1) focus on customer due diligence requirements, setting out more detailed rules for how firms should identify and verify clients.

The draft standards under Article 53(10) concern pecuniary sanctions, administrative measures and periodic penalty payments, forming part of the enforcement framework under AMLD 6.

For the consultations on business relationships and customer due diligence, the deadline for submitting comments is May 8, 2026.

For the consultation on sanctions and enforcement measures, the deadline for comments is March 9, 2026.

The draft Regulatory Technical Standards and the links for submitting responses are available on AMLA’s official website.

An online public hearing on the draft standards covering business relationships and customer due diligence is scheduled for March 24, 2026.

CySEC said that additional information from AMLA regarding the public hearing will follow at a later stage.

The regulator emphasised that the consultations are open to all stakeholders, including obliged entities in the non-financial sector and new categories of obliged entities for which AMLA has issued specific key messages.

According to AMLA’s press release dated February 9, 2026, the authority welcomes responses from all stakeholders on the business relationships consultation.

For the consultations on customer due diligence and enforcement, AMLA particularly welcomes input from the non-financial sector, given what it described as limited participation by that sector in earlier consultations conducted by the European Banking Authority in early 2025.

The role of the non-financial sector is further analysed in AMLA’s explainer document.

CySEC urged regulated entities in Cyprus to take part in the process and respond to what it described as substantive consultation papers.

The circular highlights the ongoing overhaul of the EU anti-money laundering framework and the increasing role of AMLA in shaping technical standards that will directly affect supervised firms.

It also underlines the importance for Cyprus based entities to engage early with the proposed rules, particularly in areas such as customer verification procedures, transaction monitoring thresholds and the broader EU enforcement regime.

In a separate announcement, the commission drew attention to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority’ recent publication of its first multi-year strategic plan for the period between 2026 and 2028, establishing a definitive roadmap for the agency to move from its foundational phase to full operational delivery.

This Single Programming Document outlines a clear path for the market by focusing on the completion of the Single Rulebook and the advancement of supervisory convergence across the European Union.

The authority intends to strengthen cooperation among Financial Intelligence Units while simultaneously building robust risk frameworks and operationalising direct supervision of high-risk entities.

Industry guidance within the document prioritises simplification and clarity, specifically regarding rules for customer due diligence and business relationships to provide a consistent framework for supervisors.

To meet these expansive regulatory mandates, the authority is rapidly scaling its organisational capacity with plans to increase its workforce from 120 staff at the close of 2025 to 432 employees by the end of 2027.

“AMLA’s first Single Programming Document sets out our path to full operations, providing clarity for the market while we build an authority that is technically excellent and grounded in cooperation,” said AMLA Chair Bruna Szego.