AMLA Regulation

(19) With the objective of ensuring a more effective and less fragmented protection of the Union’s financial framework, a limited number of the riskiest obliged entities should be directly supervised by the Authority. As ML/TF risks are not proportional to the size of the supervised entities, other criteria should be applied to identify the riskiest entities. In particular, two categories should be considered: high-risk cross-border credit institutions and financial institutions with activity in a significant number of Member States, selected periodically; and, in exceptional cases, any entity whose material breaches of applicable requirements are not sufficiently or in a timely manner addressed by its national supervisor. In such exceptional cases, either the Authority or the financial supervisors should be able to request a transfer of supervision from national to Union level, with a proper justification. Where such requests for transfer are submitted by the Authority, they should be examined by the Commission and either approved or rejected by means of an official decision, taking into account the justification submitted. Where such requests for transfer are submitted by the financial supervisors to the Authority and involve the voluntary delegation of tasks and powers, it should be for the Authority to decide on the necessity of the transfer, and assume direct supervision of the obliged entity or group in question where it finds that the Union’s interests and the integrity of the AML/CFT system so require. All entities in respect of which the Authority would be exercising direct supervisory powers fall under the category of ‘selected obliged entities’.