Eight European countries are urged to comply with 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive

The European Commission on Money Laundering has sent letters of formal notice to eight member states for failing to notify the Commission of the measures being taken to implement the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.  Members of the European Union were required to implement the rules of the 5th AML Directive by January 10, 2020.  The Commission noted in its press release that it regretted that Cyprus, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain had failed to transpose the Directive in timely manner, and warned that it may decide to send reasoned opinions to them if they failed to provide a satisfactory response within two months. A reasoned opinion sent by the European Commission is a formal request to comply with EU law, in which the Commission articulates its reason for deeming a member state to be in breach of EU law, and asks to know the measures taken to remedy the deficiency.  If a satisfactory response is not provided within the specified period, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice.

European Commission Infringement Decisions