Nicosia: The Chair of the EU’s Anti-money Laundering Authority (AMLA), Bruna Szego, visited Cyprus on October 30 as part of her tour across European Union Member States. The visit aimed to enhance coordination between AMLA and National Competent Authorities to build a robust EU AML Community.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Szego met with Cyprus’ joint representative to AMLA’s General Board, Kleanthis Ioannides, and senior leadership from the CBC, including Executive Board Member George Karatzias and Pany Karamanou, Head of the Directorate General for Financial Stability and Resolution, during her visit at the CBC premises.
Szego chaired two roundtable discussions attended by representatives from all National Competent Authorities in the financial and non-financial sectors, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The second discussion included representatives from associations of obliged entities licensed in Cyprus. She invited participants to share their perspectives on the new AML approach’s opportunities and challenges and outlined AMLA’s short-term and long-term priorities. Discussions also covered supervision harmonization and challenges facing national supervisory authorities.
The CBC quoted Szego emphasizing the significance of direct meetings with representatives from National Competent Authorities and associations of obliged entities. “Cooperation and coordination will be crucial for us as a community to succeed in our mission,” she noted. Ioannides assured Szego of the commitment of Cyprus’ competent authorities and the FIU to achieving AMLA’s objectives.
AMLA was officially established following the adoption of the legislative package on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing in May 2024 and began operations on July 1, 2025, based in Frankfurt. AMLA will assume direct supervision of 40 financial obliged entities, selected in 2027 based on large cross-border activity and risk categorization criteria, when fully operational on January 1, 2028. It will also exercise indirect supervision over remaining entities in both financial and non-financial sectors and strengthen cooperation with national financial intelligence units, the statement concludes.