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Written by the team at Shoulder Compliance, Malta.

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AMLR MALTA

Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) in Malta

Direct effect from 10 July 2027, local supervisors, and a lot of cross-border business.

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Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) in Malta

The AMLR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, applies in Malta from 10 July 2027 without a national act. What remains national comes from Directive (EU) 2024/1640, which Malta must transpose, and from the way local supervisors apply the rules.

Who does what

The FIAU is Malta’s financial intelligence unit and publishes the implementing procedures that subject persons follow today. The MFSA licenses and supervises financial firms, including crypto-asset service providers under MiCA. When a firm files a suspicion, Article 69 of the AMLR routes it to the FIU of the Member State where the firm is established, which for a Maltese company is the FIAU.

What to watch

  • FIAU guidance. We found no published FIAU document on moving its implementing procedures to the AMLR. Treat the current procedures as binding until the FIAU says otherwise, and watch its website.
  • Cash limit. Article 80 sets a EUR 10,000 cap, subject to lower national limits.
  • AMLA. The EU authority created by Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 will directly supervise a small number of high-risk cross-border groups. See our note on AMLA supervision.
  • Sectors. Malta’s weight in crypto, gaming and corporate services makes the sector pages the best place to continue.

A practitioner view

Malta firms tend to over-index on the local procedures and under-prepare for the group angle. If your customers or parent sit elsewhere, the rule you must meet will be the strictest of the places you operate. Article 16 on group-wide policies applies to groups with Maltese subsidiaries as much as to any other.

What this means for you

Ask which supervisor’s expectations you answer to, and whether your group has a single policy that satisfies all of them. Send an enquiry to Shoulder Compliance, or schedule a no-obligation call to talk to an expert based in Malta.

General information, not legal advice.

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