AMLA finalises RTS on home and host supervisory cooperation under MLD6

On 1 October 2026, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (“AMLA”) published its final report containing draft regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) on the respective duties of home and host anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) supervisors, and the modalities of cooperation between them, under the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“MLD6”).

The draft RTS will now be submitted to the European Commission for adoption before publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Background and scope

The MLD6 governs the institutional and supervisory architecture underpinning the EU’s AML/CFT framework, including AMLA itself and the network of national supervisors responsible for overseeing obliged entities. Article 46 MLD6 requires home and host supervisors of a cross-border group of obliged entities to cooperate and exchange information in the performance of their AML/CFT supervisory functions.

Article 46(4) MLD6 mandates AMLA to develop draft RTS specifying the respective duties of home and host supervisors, and the modalities of cooperation between them, for groups of obliged entities operating across more than one Member State, in both the financial and non-financial sectors.

The draft RTS apply to the supervision of cross-border groups of obliged entities in both the financial and non-financial sectors and form part of a broader AML/CFT supervisory cooperation framework. Where an AML/CFT supervisory college has been established, the draft RTS apply only to the extent that the relevant processes are not already governed by the college-specific framework, including the AML/CFT Colleges Guidelines and the draft RTS under Articles 49(14) and 50(13) MLD6 once adopted. The RTS are also intended to operate alongside the wider cooperation framework established under Articles 64(6) and 69 MLD6. Conversely, the draft RTS do not apply to situations where obliged entities operate in another Member State exclusively through branches, agents, distributors or other forms of infrastructure, as those arrangements are governed separately under Article 47 MLD6.

AMLA notes that the RTS address a long-standing gap by establishing arrangements for cross-border cooperation and information exchange in the context of group supervision, particularly where no AML/CFT supervisory college is in place.

What do the RTS provide for?

Channels of communication and cooperation requests: The draft RTS establish practical arrangements for cooperation between home and host supervisors, including the use of secure communication channels, standardised procedures for cooperation requests and proactive information-sharing where information may materially affect another supervisor's assessment of an obliged entity's ML/TF risk exposure. Supervisors will also be expected to share relevant risk assessments, supervisory findings and information relating to sanctions or administrative measures. The framework is intended to support cooperation that is both targeted and proportionate, reflecting AMLA's stated objectives in the Final Report.

Cross-border inquiries and coordinated supervisory action: The draft RTS also introduce a framework for cross-border inquiries and coordinated supervisory action. Home and host supervisors will be able to coordinate supervisory activities, including on-site inspections and other forms of supervisory engagement, and agree common approaches to information-sharing, timing and follow-up actions. AMLA may become involved where supervisors fail to adhere to an agreed coordinated approach.

Onward use and disclosure of exchanged information: The draft RTS facilitate information-sharing within the EU supervisory framework by allowing exchanged information to be disclosed for supervisory purposes without obtaining the originating supervisor's prior consent, provided that the originating supervisor is notified of the disclosure. Information received from third-country supervisors, however, will remain subject to applicable consent requirements before it may be shared further.

What this means for firms

Although the draft RTS are addressed to supervisors rather than obliged entities, groups and structures operating across more than one Member State should monitor how home and host supervisors apply the Article 46(4) MLD6 cooperation framework once it takes effect, in particular:

1. the expanded categories of information that home and host supervisors may exchange about a group’s risk profile, audit findings and supervisory history, which may surface in future supervisory engagement or requests for information;

2. the new framework for cross-border inquiries and coordinated supervisory approaches, which may result in more closely aligned supervisory timing and messaging across a group’s Member State operations than under current practice; and

3. the new rules on notification-based (rather than consent-based) onward disclosure of supervisory information, which mean that information a group provides to one Member State supervisor may ultimately be shared with other EU supervisors, including AMLA, without the originating supervisor’s consent, subject only to prior notification to that supervisor.

Given that the RTS are expected to apply from 10 July 2027, groups should use the intervening period to understand how their existing supervisory relationships may be affected once home and host supervisors begin operating under this framework.

If you would like to discuss how these draft RTS may affect your business, please get in touch with your usual Simmons & Simmons contact or any member of our Financial Services Regulatory team.