On 9 June 2026, AMLA held its first conference at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main. Under the theme “Building Trust, Enhancing Integrity: A New Chapter in the EU's Fight Against Financial Crime,” AMLA brought together a broad range of partners involved in Europe’s response to money laundering and terrorist financing, including supervisors, financial intelligence units, the private sector, law enforcement, academia, and EU bodies and international institutions.
The programme included keynote speeches and three thematic panels with discussions focusing on key topics shaping the AML/CFT agenda. In addition to over 360 guests attending from all 27 Member States and beyond the EU, hundreds of participants followed the conference online via the livestream.
In her opening address, AMLA Chair Bruna Szego underlined that the fight against money laundering is closely linked to the integrity of the EU’s economy and financial system, stressing that “protecting the integrity of our financial system is essential to safeguarding Europe’s economic sovereignty, enforcing its sanctions, and preventing external actors from exploiting our markets.” She underlined that AML/CFT is important not only for protecting the integrity of the EU economy and financial system, but also for supporting Europe’s autonomy, resilience and competitiveness. Recalling that the first Anti-Money Laundering Directive was adopted 35 years ago, she described the development of the EU framework from separate national approaches towards a more coordinated European system.
She also highlighted that money laundering and terrorist financing risks are changing, pointing to geopolitical developments and new technologies as drivers. These risks include the misuse of crypto-assets and the use of artificial intelligence to conceal or expand criminal activity. As she noted, “financial crime [is] qualitatively different — not simply greater in scale, but increasingly cross-border and harder to trace.” AMLA, she said, is preparing to address this changing risk environment, and the private sector will also need to continue adapting its tools, resources and controls.
A central point of her address was AMLA’s integrated mandate. “For the first time, supervision and financial intelligence coordination sit under one roof,” she noted, explaining the added value of this.
The Chair offered reflections on the three priority areas for AMLA, each of which was the topic of a panel discussion: a better understanding of risks and technology, more consistent supervision, and stronger financial intelligence.
The Chair concluded underlining AMLA’s commitment to simplification and proportionality. The aim, she said, is to support rules and practices that are “simpler and more proportionate — but never at the expense of effectiveness.”
Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union
Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque set out AMLA’s place in the EU’s AML framework, describing the Authority as one of its central elements. She stressed that trust is essential for well-functioning financial markets, and that protecting the integrity of the financial system is part of maintaining that trust. “AMLA is important for Europe,” the Commissioner said. She also noted that the new rules are only the starting point, and that implementation will be the key test for the new framework.
Aurore Lalucq, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)
ECON Chair Aurore Lalucq focused on the impact of financial crime on people, institutions and the economy, noting that dirty money weakens democracy, affects public services and distorts economic activity. She underlined the importance of anti-money laundering as a public policy priority, and noted that “AMLA matters,” “because Europe needs a common capacity to defend itself.”
Javier Zarzalejos, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
LIBE Chair Javier Zarzalejos highlighted the importance of the non-financial sector in fighting financial crime, noting that criminal networks can use legitimate businesses and professional services to launder illicit funds. He stressed that differences in supervision, regulatory coverage and national capacity can create vulnerabilities, particularly in cross-border cases, and underlined the importance of AMLA’s role in addressing these gaps more consistently across the EU.
Jeanette Schwamberger, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Finance
State Secretary Jeanette Schwamberger discussed the importance of anti-money laundering for Europe, particularly in relation to sovereignty and cooperation. She expressed Germany’s support for AMLA and stressed the need for a strong, risk-based European framework to protect the integrity of the financial system.
Panel 1: “The Role of Financial Intelligence in the Fight Against Transnational Organised Crime”
Panel 1, moderated by Executive Board Member Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, explored how actionable financial intelligence is created and how different actors can better contribute to this collective goal. The discussion covered the full chain of the AML system, from suspicious activity reporting by the private sector, to analysis and information exchange between FIUs, and the use of financial intelligence by law enforcement and prosecutors. Panellists represented every step along this chain and discussed the importance of improving the quality of information exchange, so that financial intelligence can better support investigations. They also addressed AMLA’s role in promoting cooperation and supporting joint analyses across Member States.
Panellists: Daniel Thelesklaf (Head of FIU Germany), Elżbieta Franków-Jaśkiewicz, (Chair, Egmont Group), Major General Vito Giordano (Head of 2nd Department - Coordination, Intelligence and International Relations, Guardia di Finanza HQ), Niamh Davenport (Head of Financial Crime, BPFI), Gabriel Seixas (European Prosecutor, EPPO).
Panel 2: “AMLA in Practice: Supervision and Cooperation”
Panel 2 moderated by Executive Board Member Derville Rowland, explored how supervision and cooperation work in practice across the EU, and what greater consistency means for both supervisors and supervised entities. Panellists represented national authorities, banks, academia and AMLA. They discussed regulatory convergence as a practical necessity that supports the development of common methodologies and leads to clearer expectations and greater legal certainty for cross-border financial institutions.
Panellists: Grégoire Vuarlot (AMLA GB Member, Deputy Secretary General, ACPR), Gita Salden (AMLA GB Member, Member of the Executive Board, DNB), Brian McKenzie (Managing Director & EU Head of AML, Citi), Raffaele Cosimo (Group AML Officer, Intesa Sanpaolo), Nicolas Véron (Senior Fellow, Bruegel (Brussels) and Peterson Institute for International Economics (Washington DC), Rikke-Louise Ørum Petersen (Executive Board Member, AMLA).
Panel 3: “Financial Crime and Technology: Risks and Responses in a Digital Age”
Panel 3 focused on the role of technology in fighting financial crime. Moderated by Executive Board Member Simonas Krėpšta, the panel brought together law enforcement, the private sector, academia, and AMLA to examine how criminals use tools such as crypto-assets and artificial intelligence, and the ways in which authorities and the private sector can use technology to detect and prevent illicit activity. The discussion covered areas such as blockchain analytics, AI-supported detection and cross-border data sharing. As a new EU authority, AMLA has the opportunity to build these capabilities into its work from the start.
Panellists: Giuseppe Lopez (Head of Department - European Financial & Economic Crime Centre, Europol), James Lee (Global Head of Capacity Building, Chainalysis;), Beju Shah (Head of Toronto Innovation Centre, BIS), Dr. Ioana Karnstedt-Hulpus (Assistant Professor - Department of Information and Computing Science, Utrecht University), Nadine Kari (Director of Global Anti-Financial Crime, N26 Bank), Nicolas Vasse (Executive Director, AMLA).
AMLA Vice-Chair Juan Manuel Vega Serrano closed the conference by offering reflections on the insights of the day and an outlook on AMLA’s work and the EU’s AML/CFT efforts in his closing remarks.
The Vice Chair stressed the importance of moving towards “high-value, actionable intelligence” and of turning “gaps into bridges” through better cooperation and information exchange. He also underlined that regulatory convergence is “not an administrative burden or a distant aspiration,” but “an operational need” for a modern economy.
Looking ahead, he highlighted three strategic lines of action for AMLA: completing a unified legal framework that reduces fragmentation, preparing for the direct supervision of a core group of financial institutions, and strengthening the mechanisms that provide timely and actionable financial intelligence to investigators and prosecutors.
He stressed that achieving these objectives requires cooperation across institutions, authorities and sectors. As he put it, “no single European authority can overcome these challenges alone.” He invited participants to continue engaging with AMLA, sharing their experience and providing feedback as the Authority develops its work.
