On 30 April 2020, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued Circular No. 384 informing the regulated entities that the three European Supervisory Authorities (The European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority)(ESAs) published joint guidelines on cooperation and information exchange for the purpose of Directive (EU) 2015/849 between competent authorities supervising credit and financial institutions - The AML/CFT Colleges Guidelines (theGuidelines).

The ESAs are issuing these Guidelines to clarify the practical ways and methods of supervisory cooperation and information exchange, and to create a common framework that supervisors should use to support effective oversight of cross-border groups from an AML/CFT perspective and also from a more general prudential perspective.

The ESAs believe that the establishment of AML/CFT colleges will support competent authorities’ understanding of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with firms under their supervision and, ultimately, foster the development of consistent and effective supervisory approaches to AML/CFT supervision across the EU.

CySEC’s Circular can be found here.

ESAs' AML/CFT Colleges Guidelines can be found here.