The European Union (EU) has announced the establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) in Frankfurt, Germany. The AMLA will monitor high-risk and cross-border financial entities, including those operating within the crypto space, and will begin its operations in mid-2025. The AMLA will oversee various financial actors such as banks, payment institutions, crypto-asset service providers, and trust and company service providers, ensuring compliance with the EU's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. The authority will have the power to fine or penalize entities that violate these regulations. The decision to locate the AMLA in Frankfurt was made based on a proposal by the European Commission in July 2023, with other cities such as Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius, and Vienna also considered as potential hosts for the authority. The establishment of the AMLA is part of the EU's broader efforts to regulate the crypto and AI sectors. The EU has already implemented the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, which sets common rules and standards for crypto-asset service providers, and the European AI Act, the first AI-focused legislation in the EU, which introduces risk-based regulation of AI applications and safeguards for creators and users of AI-generated content. [3ba0e659]