The EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and Regulation: A Commentary

Georgios Pavlidis

ISBN: 9781035347094

Published: August 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited

Description

In 2024 the European Union adopted a sweeping overhaul of its anti-money laundering framework: a directly applicable Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), a Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6), and a new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) with direct supervisory powers over a defined set of higher-risk financial entities. Georgios Pavlidis's article-by-article commentary is the first comprehensive guide to this new "single rulebook," working through both the AMLR and AMLD6 provision by provision.

The commentary explains how the framework strengthens customer due diligence and beneficial ownership transparency, and how it restructures coordination between national authorities and the new EU-level supervisor. Written by a scholar holding a UNESCO Chair and a Jean Monnet Chair in this field, it situates each provision within its legislative history and connects it to adjacent EU law on data protection, financial supervision, and criminal law.

Throughout, the commentary offers a forward-looking assessment of where the framework's coherence still depends on operational cooperation between European and national institutions rather than on the legislative text alone — a distinction the author frames as the difference between a single rulebook and a genuinely single anti-money laundering system.

Key Features

Delivers article-by-article commentary on both the AML Regulation and the Sixth AML Directive across 934 pages, the first work of its kind on the EU's 2024 legislative package. Explains the operational split between AMLA's direct supervision of selected higher-risk entities and national authorities' continuing responsibility for the rest of the financial sector — the key compliance question for any cross-border institution. Cross-references the framework's interaction with EU data protection and financial supervision instruments, helping compliance teams map obligations that span multiple regulatory regimes. Assesses the financial-integrity and rule-of-law implications of the new framework, going beyond a provision-by-provision read to ask whether the system will function as intended in practice.

Coverage

Legislative background and the rationale for a single EU rulebook; the AML Regulation's customer due diligence and beneficial ownership provisions; the Sixth AML Directive and its national transposition; AMLA's supervisory mandate and its relationship with national Financial Intelligence Units; interaction with EU data protection and financial supervision law; sanctions and enforcement; and a forward-looking assessment of the framework's coherence and effectiveness.

About the Authors

Georgios Pavlidis holds a UNESCO Chair and a Jean Monnet Chair, and directs the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence AI-2-TRACE-CRIME. He is Associate Professor of International and EU Law at the Department of Law, Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus, with a sustained research and advisory record in EU anti-money laundering and financial crime law.

Table of Contents

Part I: Legislative Background and the Single Rulebook
Part II: The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation — Customer Due Diligence and Beneficial Ownership
Part III: The Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive
Part IV: The European Anti-Money Laundering Authority and National Financial Intelligence Units
Part V: Interaction with Data Protection, Financial Supervision, and Criminal Law
Part VI: Sanctions and Enforcement
Part VII: Coherence, Effectiveness, and the Framework's Future Trajectory

Why buy this book?

As the EU's AML Regulation and Sixth Directive move from adoption into implementation, this is the first article-by-article commentary on the new single rulebook, and the reference point for compliance teams, regulators, and law firms navigating the shared supervisory role of AMLA and national authorities. For any law library serving banking, financial regulation, or EU criminal law, it is the current standard work on the subject.

Keywords

EU anti-money laundering law, AML Regulation, AMLR, Sixth AML Directive, AMLD6, AMLA, financial crime compliance, beneficial ownership, customer due diligence, EU financial regulation

Target Audience

Compliance officers, financial regulators, EU and international law firms, banking and financial institutions, academic and institutional law and finance libraries

Genre

Financial regulation, Compliance

Q&A

Q: What does this commentary cover?
A: It is an article-by-article commentary on the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) and Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6), the legislative package adopted in 2024 that creates a single EU AML rulebook.

Q: What is the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)?
A: AMLA is the first EU-level supervisor for anti-money laundering, with direct supervisory powers over a defined set of higher-risk financial entities, while national authorities remain responsible for the rest of the sector — a division the book explains in detail.

Q: Who is this book written for?
A: Compliance officers, financial regulators, and legal practitioners at EU and international law firms and financial institutions, as well as academic researchers in EU financial and criminal law.

Q: Who is the author?
A: Georgios Pavlidis, who holds a UNESCO Chair and a Jean Monnet Chair and directs the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence AI-2-TRACE-CRIME at Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus.

Q: Where can I buy The EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and Regulation: A Commentary?
A: Through CLNZ Books, with worldwide delivery for university libraries, law firms, and individual professionals.

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