The Government approved the submission of an application to host AMLA in Vilnius
Today, the Government approved the submission of an application for participation in the call for applications to host a new European Union-level Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) in Lithuania. A decision was made at the ministerial meeting for the Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with other institutions, to carry out all the necessary preparatory work and submit an application to the European Commission proposing to establish this authority in Vilnius by the scheduled deadline.
"At the level of the Government, we have set an ambition to attract the newly created EU money laundering prevention authority – AMLA – to Lithuania. We have been working consistently for more than two years, gathering support from other countries for Vilnius' candidacy. The next step in the selection process is the formal submission of the application to the European Commission. After assessing Lithuania's advantages – accumulated financial sector risk management competences in the public sector, a large community of compliance experts, the convenient location of Vilnius, the diversity of cultures and the country's good reputation for managing risks both in the traditional financial sector and in the Fintech segment – we are convinced that Vilnius would be the best home for the newly created EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority," noted Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė.
According to the decision taken at the ministerial meeting, the Ministry of Finance is obliged to submit Lithuania's application by the deadline specified by the EC – November 10.
More about Lithuania's AMLA candidacy:
Vilnius is an exceptionally good location for AMLA
One of the main advantages of Vilnius as the home of AMLA is its successful experience in money laundering risk management and a high culture of prevention implementation, which is characterized by exceptional cooperation between the public and private sectors. The risk management system is constantly improved, international recommendations are implemented, and the best solutions are proactively sought. One of the best examples is the adoption of national regulation on crypto-assets last year to increase transparency and prevention in the sector.
Lithuania is considered one of the countries that best manages the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and according to the Basel AML Index, in 2022, Lithuania entered the TOP 10 countries with the lowest risk in the world. At the same time, among the countries that have expressed their willingness to participate in the call for AMLA's headquarters, Lithuania ranks first according to the Basel index.
Lithuania is one of the leading Fintech countries, which established itself as an international Fintech hub. More than 250 financial technology companies are operating in Lithuania, bringing together more than 7 thousand professionals, and their activities range from cross-border payments and remittances, digital banking, online investments to peer-to-peer borrowing, crowdfunding instrument management, etc. At the same time, the National Development Plan for the Fintech Sector 2023-2028 was approved, which will help ensure that Lithuania’s leadership in this sector is sustainable and continuous, promoting the quality development of Fintech by consolidating the position of the Centre of Excellence in Europe.
With the rapid expansion of the financial technology sector, the ecosystem of the market and public sector is also strengthening, distinguished by the competences of regulators and supervisory authorities. Lithuania has accumulated good practical regulatory experience in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other risks. In addition, a very important role is played by the Centre of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering (CEAML), established by the Ministry of Finance together with the Bank of Lithuania and the largest market participants.
However, the most important trump card of the Lithuanian ecosystem is the people. There are over 10 thousand professionals working in the field of preventing money laundering in Lithuania. The goal is for the Lithuanian talent community to constantly grow and improve, therefore, the Ministry of Finance, CEAML and Mykolas Riomeris University have established the Programme for Preventing Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, which ensures the entry of new qualified specialists into the market. The talent base in Lithuania will continue to expand as the training and retraining of specialists and the development of the financial technology sector continue.
Since the authority will hire the professionals from all over Europe, other aspects, such as the fact that Vilnius, as the greenest capital of Europe, can offer a high quality of life with an abundance of green spaces, are also important in choosing the location. In the capital of the country, we have high quality health and social services, a multilingual education system that meets the highest standards, a dynamic and active labour market. As a country, Lithuania has a high level of proficiency in foreign languages. Vilnius can offer professionals from all over Europe a western quality of work and life in a city that is competitive in terms of prices compared to other Western capitals or big cities.
AMLA is beneficial for Lithuania
The establishment of AMLA in Vilnius would be a strong sign of quality, confirming Lithuania's achievements in this field and evaluating the long-term work of the public sector and market participants. However, at the same time, the arrival of AMLA in Lithuania would complement the ecosystem of the Lithuanian financial sector – for both the public and private sectors, AMLA would be extremely important.
Finally, AMLA in Vilnius would also bring economic benefits, since about 400 well-paid specialists could work in the agency in the long run. The fact that some specialists would move from Europe and come with their families means that the establishment of the authority in the capital would provide an additional boost to the city and country's economy and individual sectors.
The initiative to create a European-wide authority was launched in 2021. It is expected that an agreement on where AMLA will be located and what specific mandate it will have at the EU level will be reached by the end of this year, and the new institution will start its work already in the first half of next year.
AMLA will be the main institution ensuring a consistent and unified system for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU financial sector and coordinating actions with the national supervisory authorities of the Member States.
Please note that on September 28, the EC officially published a call for EU countries to submit applications to host AMLA by the specified deadline of November 10. For the first time, a proposal to establish a new EU-level Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Authority, which would be the main supervisory authority for the financial sector and coordinate actions with the national supervisory authorities of EU members, was presented on 20 July 2021.
Last updated: 17-10-2023
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